The Mind is a Powerful Weapon
by KJKatie
Summary: The Flash finds a mysterious new Meta-human who helps him fight an evil water-controlling Meta-human. [NOTE: Almost complete! Then it will be rewritten. The earlier chapters were not written as well as I would have liked and should have just been a 2nd draft instead of published work.]
1. Chapter 1

**Writer's note: This is my first Flash fanfic.  
** **Please note that I am not that good with science talk, so I can't really explain things like the show has Barry, Cisco, Caitlin and others explain things as well as the writers of the show(I'll try my best). Sorry. Don't hate me!  
Disclaimer: Also, I haven't read the comics (I really want to!), but I know the basics. So any new characters I make are from my head. If they resemble any superheroes, it was NOT intentional. I am not ripping off other superheroes. And I do NOT claim to own The Flash or any of the show's/comic's characters. I only own my OC's (which I came up with by myself and not from anything I read or saw.  
Also I don't know where this story would fit into the show (maybe sometime before Earth 2). I will figure it out. And I didn't want to add Wells/Reverse Flash, because the writers on the show had everything he did planned to lead up to his reveal, so I didn't want to ruin that. If you think I should add him anyways, let me know and I'll try.  
Anyways I hope you enjoy this fan fiction! (:**

* * *

"Barry?" Caitlin's voice came through the earpiece in The Flash's earpiece. The Flash- also known as Barry Allen to the select few who know his secret identity- was just a red streak through the streets of Central City. He was running- as always- trying to clear his mind. Trying to forget the drama in his life. "There's a metahuman incident at the bank on Anderson Street. Apparently it's a Meta-human who can control water." Caitlin said as she typed on one of the computers in The Flash's headquarters, trying to get more information.  
"So cool!" Cisco said as he watched a low quality video that had just been uploaded onto the Internet. It showed man putting his arm out and water burst out of a pipe in a wall of the bank. The water slammed into the teller's bulletproof glass and other directions. The screams of scared innocent customers were heard over the rushing water.

"I'm on it!" The Flash said as he made a turn and ran down another street towards the scene.  
A few seconds later, he arrived. What he saw looked like a scene from a movie. The front wall of the bank looked as if something heavy had pushed it in- water, he guessed. Rumble was scattered all over the tile floor of the bank and wet brick steps leading up the bank. The Flash narrowed his eyes as he saw the villain inside. He was a middle-aged man of about six feet, in a long jacket and pants. He was drenched in water, but it didn't seem to bother him.

Water slushed around the floor of the bank. Drenched customers and employees huddled in the right back corner of the bank. An evil sounding laugh came from the man as a wall of water rushed toward the innocent people. The Flash knew he wouldn't have time to save them all. Before he could move, a loud bang filled the bank and random objects seemed to move toward the terrified people. His heart skipped a beat. It looked like they were going to collide and kill the terrified people, but then he saw the objects were forming a barrier between them and the rushing water. The Flash stared in disbelief. Was the man using powers to save the people he just tried to kill a second ago?

Then he saw it. A woman, about Barry's age, was kneeling in front of the other customers. She had her arms wrapped around her face, as if to defend herself from the oncoming water. Her palms, fingers spread, were facing the wall that formed between her and the water. She was trembling. It seemed she was unaware of the wall of desks, rumble, chairs and other objects that barricaded her from the wall of water that smashed into it. She seemed to be the one who was forming the wall a few feet in front of her and the other civilians.

"There's another Meta-human." The Flash whispered to Cisco and Caitlin.

"Another?" The idea got his attention and he sat upright in his chair and put down the Slurpee he was drinking a second before. "What are the powers?"

"It seems she can move things with her mind." He responded.

"Okay, seriously? Now _that's_ sweet!" Cisco grinned, "She's like a Jedi!"

Caitlin laughed and shook her head at Cisco's excitement.  
The Flash ran past the man and around the wall that now stood about fifteen feet tall, to the huddled people behind it. "Is everyone alright?" He looked at them; seeing that there were several children in the arms of their mothers, bank employees, and other customers. They nodded slowly, still terrified of the man behind the wall.  
The Meta-human woman barely heard the voice. After a few seconds, she realized she did hear a voice and slowly lowered her arms a bit. She turned her head toward the owner of the voice. Seeing The Flash about ten feet to the right and behind her, she opened her mouth slowly to say something, but nothing came out.

The Flash could see she was shaken. He stepped toward her to try to comfort her, but another loud noise was heard as another wave of water hit the wall, trying to get at the innocent civilians. The noise made the woman look in front of her. She gasped at the sight of the wall. It started to shake and fall as she looked at her hands, still facing the wall as if pushing the wall upright. She looked in disbelief.

"Am I doing that? No. It can't be! How?" She said in a shaky and disbelieving voice. She moved her hands down and the wall started to come down, as if obeying her hand signals. Her hands began to shake as she realized it was indeed her. She was mentally holding up the wall.  
The Flash stepped forward. "You are saving them. It is you. You can do this." He said in a best calm voice, but loud enough to be heard over the clanging of falling tables and debris and flowing water behind it. "Do you think you can hold it up while I get them out of here?" He whispered as he looked back at the wide-eyed people, huddling in the corner.

She took a deep breath, trying to convince herself she could. Another wave hit the wall and she gritted her teeth. She didn't want these people to die, because she wasn't able keep this barrier up. She shakily nodded as she stood up. Her knees felt weak, but she did her best to stay standing. She extended her hands and tried to mentally rebuild the barricade that was falling. Once it was finally back up, she turned her head towards The Flash and nodded to let him know she was ready.

The Flash nodded back, trying to convince her. He ran towards the others and picked up a woman and child. She sped around the wall and out of the bank before the water reached the wall again. The man had no time to react to the flash of yellow lightning that sped past him.

The Flash dropped them off across the street and went back inside for another pair. After only two minutes- which also included avoiding the surge of water that tried to catch him- his task was done. He saw the police cars racing down the street towards the bank. He turned to the still shaken civilians and said, "Stay here. The police will protect you. You will be fine." A chorus of "thank you"s was heard over the noise inside the bank as he raced back into the bank. He made his way back to the woman and picked her up, before heading back outside. She lost focus as he grabbed her and rushed outside. The wall started to crumble once more and water rushed over the rumble of desks, chairs, bricks and other random objects.

The bank was flooded with water and the man now turned the water towards the yellow flash of lightning that made it's way out of the bank. The water almost lapped at The Flash's feet as he ran down the stairs and across the street. He placed the still frightened woman at the curb and stood in front of the group for a second. "Stay here." He said and rushed back inside. The woman looked down at her hands in disbelief and pulled her drenched jacket closer around her. She wasn't sure what just happened inside the bank.

The police arrived, assessed the situation and rushed to the civilians to make sure they weren't injured. They knew by now not to interrupt The Flash while he fought.

The Flash stopped twenty feet from the man who caused all this destruction. "How do I stop him?" He whispered to Cisco and Caitlin, before returning his attention to the man. "You don't need to do this!" He shouted to the drenched man who looked like he was going to explode from anger.

"They robbed _me_! So I deserve money in return! That's the least they could have done!" The man yelled over the sound of the water.

The Flash thought fast. Who were _they_? What did _they_ do to this man to make him turn into this evil person?

"Do you got anything?" He whispered into the suit.

Caitlin's voice came through the earpiece. "We are running facial recognition from the video uploaded on the Internet." There was the sound of computer keys clicking.  
The man started walking towards the bank vault, water making what looked like a trail behind him.

"Work fast." The Flash whispered before he sped through the bank and stopped in front of the man. His back was towards the locked bank vault as he stared at the villain. "There has to be another way! I can help you!"

The man growled angrily and flicked his hand. A wave of water headed for The Flash. Just before the water was to hit him, he sped behind the man. The man grinned and turned back to the vault. He moved his hand and water moved to the vault handle. The water started to grow and raced to the handle. The pressure of the fast moving water made the five-pronged handle move slowly.

"I got it!" Cisco said into the earpiece.

"His name is Jack Clark. He was a Civil Engineer at the Central City Water District until an accident on the night of the Particle Accelerator explosion." Caitlin said. She and Cisco looked at each other. They both knew what happened- at least the vague outline. Somehow the explosion caused Jack's body to change and become a Meta-human. "It says a pipe burst and he drowned." Caitlyn added as she read more.

"It seems he didn't die." Cisco paused and smirked. "Or maybe he did! And he's some kind of zombie who can control water!" Caitlin glared over at him to tell him she doubted that was what happened.

The Flash shook his head and chuckled. "How do I stop him?" He whispered as he watched the man force the water forward to slowly open the vault. He knew he only had a minute tops before the vault would open.

"Fire?" Cisco asked. "Fire is the opposite of water!"  
The Flash looked around for anything that could be used to make fire. "I don't see anything that could-"

"Electricity." A female voice whispered behind The Flash. He turned around quickly to see the woman who had made the wall just a few minutes ago. She stepped forward. Damp long blonde hair fell over her shoulder and The Flash could see her better now. She was dressed simply in jeans, boots, a t-shirt, a leather jacket and a scarf. She tried to hold herself up in a confident way, but he could see she was still shaken from the events that took place moments before. "There's a reason parents tell kids not to swim in a pool while there's a thunderstorm, or have a hairdryer near the sink."

"Oh she's good!" Cisco chimed in and smirked.

"It could work. A low voltage of electricity could stun him long enough to get him back here and lock him up." Caitlin said as she typed on the computer.

The Flash smiled at her for the good idea and turned back towards the man. The water had almost opened the vault door. He looked around quickly for anything he could use. He saw wires running along the wall.

"Get out of the water!" She yelled at him. The Flash turned back to look at the woman, but she was gone. He looked around and saw she was standing on a dry desk against a wall to his left. She carefully pulled another set of wires out of a wall. The Flash opened his mouth to tell her he would do this. He didn't want to put an innocent civilian in danger. But before he could say anything she was already throwing a wire towards the water. At super speed he jumped back, out of a puddle of water. As the woman let go of the wire she quickly kneeled down on the desk and shielded her face with her hands.

In a blink of an eye, electricity made the room as bright as the sun, it coursed through the water like eels. The man screamed as it hit him. The Flash had to shield his eyes with his hands as the electricity brightened and it hard to see. After a few seconds it dimmed. He slowly lowered his hands to see the man shaking on the ground. The man got on his feet and narrowed his eyes at The Flash and the woman. The electricity wasn't enough to stun him. He swung his arm toward the wall on his left and the water raced toward it. The wall burst open and daylight shown into the bank. The water seemed to carry the man out of the bank at a fast speed. The Flash instinctively stepped forward to go after him.

"Don't!" The woman shouted and pointed to a large puddle in front of him. The wires lay inside the puddle in front of him and it still surged with electricity. He stepped back quickly and sighed. "I lost him." He said to Cisco and Caitlin.

He turned to the woman who was still standing on the desk. "Let's get you out of here… again." He said as we carefully avoided the puddles on his way over to the desk. The Flash held out his hand for her to take and she took it slowly, jumping down from the desk onto a dry part of the tile floor. He took her out of the bank in the blink of an eye and a dash of yellow lightning. He stopped on the steps of the bank and looked at the police who were making their way up with loaded guns. Behind the police, ambulances had arrived and were helping the soaked civilians. The woman stood on his right, also watching the scene below them.

"He escaped. It's clear inside." The Flash said to the officers before he took the woman again and raced back to S.T.A.R. labs.

* * *

 **Another note: If you have any suggestions or thoughts please review! Thank you. (: I will get to writing the next chapter (Where this mysterious woman finds herself in the lab and mets Cisco and Caitlin) as soon as I can.  
** **Also, I need your help! I am trying to figure out what this woman's "Meta-human" name should be, but I can't think of anything cool enough. Cisco has to come up with something awesome, of course! So please help me, by writing a review with name ideas as well. Her powers are all involving her mind, FYI (more info on that in the next chapter). Whoever comes up with the best one can have their name (or nickname) written into a chapter, if you'd like, and credit of course! :D  
** **Thank you all!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Writer's note: Thank you to all of you who read the first chapter. (: I apologize for the lateness of this chapter, but I was feeling under the weather the last few days.  
I hope you enjoy this chapter! (:**

* * *

The trip to S.T.A.R. labs only took about thirty seconds. The Flash carried the meta-human into The Flash "headquarters" and they stopped in front of the desk of computers that Cisco and Caitlin were behind.

"That was epic!" Cisco exclaimed and put his hand up to high-five The Flash. Under the red mask, Barry laughed and leaned over to high-five him. "Most of it wasn't me." He said as he looked over at the blonde woman beside him. She was turning around slowly, taking in everything in the room and the open adjoining rooms.

"You are in S.T.A.R. labs. This is Cisco Ramon," The Flash said as he motioned to Cisco, who waved and stared at her a little too long.

"She's hot." He whispered under his breath and then went red when we realized he said that a loud.

Barry laughed again and then motioned to Caitlin, "And this is Dr. Caitlin Snow." Caitlin smiled at the new woman, who returned the smile shyly.

"Guys, this is-" The Flash paused when he realized he didn't even know her name.

She looked over at him and realized why he stopped. "Oh uh, Kiera. My name is Kiera Taylor." She said, still distracted by the room around her. Aware now of how she must look after the events earlier and the run here, she pulled her messed up hair down over her shoulders. It had dried during fast trip here, but was also all over the place from the wind caused by the super speed.

"So you are some kind of Jedi?" Cisco asked her. "You can move stuff with your mind?"

"Oh uh," She awkwardly moved her weight to her other foot. "I guess so, but I don't have a lightsaber or tan robe."

"Where have you been all my life?" Cisco grinned wildly. He had finally found a "hot" woman who was a nerd like he was. She opened her mouth to say something, but she had no idea how to respond to that.

Caitlin laughed and stood up. "Ignore him." She said as she pushed her chair back and walking around the desk to stand before her. "It seems you are what we call a "Meta-human."

"A what?" Kiera looked at her confused.

"A Meta-human is a person who obtained superhuman abilities, such as super speed like The Flash." She motioned to Barry, who was still in his suit. "Most Meta-humans evolved from S.T.A.R. labs' particle accelerator explosion. Central City was exposed to particles and dark matter that altered some citizen's genetic structure, or even atomic structure, giving them a variety of abilities." Caitlin rambled on about the science behind the change.

"We'd like to run tests to see how you were affected, Kiera." The Flash interrupted as he lead the way to the small science room connected to the room they stood in.

"Will they hurt?" Kiera asked as she followed slowly with Caitlin and Cisco following.

"I will need to draw blood, but the other tests should be pretty painless." Caitlin answered as she walked to one end of the room and opened a drawer containing sterile syringes. The Flash motioned for her to take off her jacket and scarf and then sit in a chair. She took off her leather jacket and scarf, placing them on a table beside her, and then sat down nervously. She was still overwhelmed by everything that happened today. He could see she was nervous so he stepped forward to talk to her. He was trying to distract her while Caitlin took the clear plastic cap off the needle and walked to her.

"Have you used your powers before this? Even unintentionally?" He asked her, standing to her left, so she wouldn't see the needle go in.

"Like Jedi mind tricks or hearing dead mentors through The Force?" Cisco asked, referencing "Star Wars". Barry gave Cisco a look. "What we've seen impossible stuff and you can't imagine _that_?"

Caitlin tied a plastic band tightly around Kiera's arm and then rubbed a small alcohol soaked cloth over the inner part of her arm. She then aligned the needle with a vein and gently pushed the needle in. Kiera winced a little and took a deep breath, trying to focus on the question and not the bee-sting-like pain in her arm.

"I uh, don't think so." She shook her head as she thought back on the recent events in her life. "At least nothing at all like what happened today." Kiera replayed the event at the bank in her mind. She still couldn't believe she was the one who mentally brought desks and chairs together to form a barricade.

Caitlin gently pulled the needle back out after getting the amount of blood she needed.

"It was impressive. You did well, Kiera." The Flash said to reassure her.

Kiera tried to smile, but she still couldn't believe it was her that did those things.

"I'll test the blood and while that's going, I'd like to do a CAT scan, MRI and other tests. Is that alright?"

"If that will help figure out what happened to me," she nodded.

Cisco wasn't needed during the tests, so he said; "I'm going to get us some coffees from Jitters. I need to think of Meta-human names for you and the water-controlling man! How about Mind Mover?" He shook his head, "Tsunami Temper? Oh I like that one! And Mind Power?" He mumbled names as he walked out of the lab.

"Oh!" The Flash looked at the clock on the wall and realized he should be at the Central City Police Station. "I've got to run, but I'll be back in about an hour." Barry said, still disguised as The Flash. The women nodded at him. Kiera honestly didn't want him to go. He was the one that helped her calm down and feel normal; instead of some freak who could move objects with her mind. She watched the lightning as he left and took a deep breath to reassure herself.

Barry changed in super speed and ran out of the lab before Kiera could see his whole face. He ran to the Police Station, knowing people would start to wonder why he wasn't at the bank's crime scene finding evidence of what happened. After getting his kit he ran to the crime scene and stopped a block before the bank to walk the rest of the way.

Back at S.T.A.R. labs, Caitlin took care of Kiera. She ran several tests, before finally letting her sit and relax as they waited for the results. Cisco came back and gave them each a coffee.

About two hours later, Barry returned in his Flash suit- late as always. "How'd the tests go?" He looked at the three of them. Caitlin and Cisco were sitting at their computers again and Kiera had pulled a chair to the side of the desk. Caitlin was going through test results and trying to track the other Meta-Human. Cisco and Kiera were watching Internet videos of the bank event. Terror and disbelief still flashed in her eyes.

"She did very well." Caitlin smiled over at Kiera. "I'm just now looking over the results." She turned back to her computer and pulled up the results. The screens on the back wall turned on also, displaying the results. Caitlin stood and went to one of the screens. Everything seems pretty normal, except her brain scans. They are extraordinary!" The screen showed an outline of a colorful brain that looked like abstract art. "As you can see here," She pointed to a section. "Her brain has twice the amount of activity as a regular human. These numbers should be for two different people, but they are all in one brain."

The room went silent.

"Uh, what does that mean?" Kiera asked, nervously.

"This is most likely why you have Telekinesis- the ability to move things with your mind." The Flash said as he looked at the brain scans and then over at her as he explained. She nodded, starting to understand.

The room went silent again for a minute as they looked at the results, then Kiera made a face that said she had done something wrong and was sorry.

"What's wrong?" Caitlin asked as she looked over at Kiera.

Kiera looked over at The Flash. "Your name is Barry Allen? Wait, aren't you that Forensic Scientist talked about how you solved a case on the news a little while back?" They all stared her, stunned.

"How?" Barry paused, trying to figure out how she knew his secret identity. "How did you know that?"

"Cisco said it." She looked to her right, where Cisco sat stunned. Barry glared at him from under his mask.

Cisco raised his hands in defense. "I swear I didn't say anything!"

They looked back at her. "But-" Kiera looked confused. "You did. I heard you say, 'She can't find out he's Barry Allen.' I heard him!"

"Wait what?" Cisco's mouth fell open. "I just thought that. I never said it out loud!"

"Telepathic abilities." Caitlin whispered. "That makes sense. It involves the mind. You are Telepathic, Kiera. You can read people's thoughts."

"Okay that's sweet!" Cisco grinned, but then it faded. "Wait! Not for me. Don't read my thoughts anymore!" He put his hands to sides of his heads as if to block Kiera's abilities.

"I'm sorry, Cisco. I honestly didn't mean to hear your thoughts. I swear." Kiera said softly, feeling overwhelmed again. She had even more powers? One was enough.

Barry sighed and pushed the Flash's mask back off his face. "Well I guess this isn't necessary anymore."

"I swear I didn't mean to. I'm sorry, Barry." Kiera said, apologetically.

"I know. It's fine." Barry said.

"Well I should get going. It's been a long day." Kiera said to break the awkward silence as she stood up. She grabbed her jacket and scarf and turned toward the doorway behind her.

"Would you want to come back tomorrow?" Caitlin asked, "We could help you figure out your powers."

"I don't know." Kiera said slowly as she looked at the group of three scientists before her. "I'm not really a lab rat." She added, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh, uh, right. I didn't mean it that way-" Caitlin said, trying to explain herself, but then she say Kiera smile trying to tell her it was a joke. She laughed and the others joined in.

"I guess I could come back tomorrow. I know the way to the S.T.A.R. labs, but I'm afraid I'd lost in the hallways. I didn't really see how we got to this room." Kiera said as she remembered how The Flash ran in here at super speed, while holding onto her.

They laughed and Caitlin took a post-it note from her desk and wrote an address. "Meet us here tomorrow at ten am. It's an empty airport runway. You can test your abilities without worrying about damaging anything." She said as she handed Kiera the piece of paper.

"I'll be there." Kiera nodded as she took the note from Caitlin and then picked up her jacket and scarf from the table.

"I'll show you out, Kiera. It is easy to get lost in these hallways." Barry said. There was a flash of yellow lightning and a gust of wind as Barry changed out of his Flash costume and into his regular clothes. He then led her out of the room and through S.T.A.R. labs towards the front door.

"I know it's scary right now, but trust me, you'll get a handle on your powers before you know it." Barry said, reassuring Kiera as they walked.

"I don't know about that." Kiera said and took a deep breath, as she remembered the event earlier at the bank. The powers she saw herself do seemed to be from a Sci-Fi movie and not from real life. "But I guess the mind reading thing could come in handy. Again," She turned towards Barry as they walked, "I am so very sorry for what I heard Cisco think. I promise I would never tell a soul. It's not really like I have anyone to tell anyways. I've been pretty much on my own, since my parents died in an accident on the night of the particle explosion."  
"I'm sorry to hear that." Barry said, sincerely. "But now you have us. We can help you hone your abilities." He gave a friendly smile to her as they reached the front door.

"Thanks." Kiera said, returning the smile and walking out the door. The winter air rushed past her she stepped through and she quickly put her leather jacket and scarf back on. "See you tomorrow." She turned to him and he repeated the sentence before closing the glass door. She took out her cellphone and called a taxi to pick her up.

* * *

The next morning in a small apartment, Kiera got up early. She started at the bright numbers on her alarm clock. _7:30_. She recalled the events of yesterday and for a moment thought maybe it was all some sort of nightmare and dream, but then she saw the yellow post it that had an address scribbled on it and realized it didn't happen while she was sleeping. She took a deep breath and stared at her hands for a minute. Did she really have the power to move things with her mind? And have the ability to read other people's thoughts? Did she really face off against a man who had power over water? Did she really meet the Flash and accidently find out his secret identity? She knew the answers, but still she couldn't believe them completely. She knew her life would never be the same.

She finally convinced herself to get up and get ready for the day. After a shower, she got dressed and walked to the tiny kitchen. She got out milk and cereal when an idea came to her. She stepped back from the counter and slowly raised her arms. She focused in on the carton of milk sitting beside a cereal bowl. Kiera took a deep breath and imagined the carton slowly rising up from were it sat and slowly tip to let milk pour out into the bowl.

Nothing happened.

Kiera sighed. She wasn't going to let herself give up that easily though. She tried it again and after a minute the milk carton started to shake and slowly float above the counter. Kiera smiled, excited that she could actually do it on her own. But that excitement made her lose focus. The carton fell from the air onto the counter and milked flew everywhere. Kiera gasped and ran to get a towel. She cleaned up the mess on the floor and counter and sighed as she looked into the empty milk carton.

"So much for that." She mumbled. This "training session" today wasn't going to go well, Kiera thought. She decided to just get a muffin from a coffee shop on the way out. She finished getting ready and headed out to do just that.

* * *

Meanwhile, Barry Allen rushed to work. Even with his super speed, he still managed to always be late for work. He did save an elderly woman from getting hit as she crossed the street. If only his boss knew he was The Flash, maybe he'd be nicer to him. Barry walked out of the Police Station's elevator and up to his office, keeping his head down to avoid being seen by anyone.

"Barry!" Came a deep voice he knew. He stopped and turned toward the voice. Standing in front of him, stood Joe West.

"Hey Joe." Barry said with a smile, trying to look relaxed as if he hadn't just got ran several blocks.

"I was just going to bring these up to your lab. It's new info from the bank incident yesterday."

"Oh, yeah. I'll take a look at them now. Thanks." Barry said as he took the file from Joe's hand and rushed up the stairs. Joe chuckled as he watched him go. Barry was always rushing.

Barry spent a few hours testing evidence and evaluating the case before taking an early lunch break and rushing off to the meeting at the airport strip.

* * *

The taxi dropped Kiera off in front of a small airport away from the city. She took a deep breath, trying to convince herself she could do this. She saw a white "S.T.A.R. LABS" on an airstrip in the distance and made her way towards it. About half way there she felt something grab her. A flash of yellow later, she was standing on the concrete airstrip in front of the tent with Barry standing beside her. Kiera looked around and laughed, when she realized what just happened. She fixed her windblown hair that once was in a loose braid as she said, "You're getting in the habit of doing that!"

Barry joined in the laughing and shrugged. "You were in my way." He teased. His grin showed he loved running that fast, maybe even more than anything else.

"Good morning." Cisco said as he stood up from behind a table of monitors. "I got coffee for us all. But I'm sure Kiera already knew that." He teased with a smile. Kiera uncomfortably shifted her weight. She knew mind reading was an invasion of privacy. She learned that the hard way yesterday. "Thanks, Cisco." She said as he handed her a to go cup from the tray and then Barry took his. They sipped their coffee for a minute and Kiera set down her shoulder bag.

Caitlin smiled, "Shall we begin?" Kiera nodded and straightened her posture, to try to look ready even though she was scared of messing up again.

"I built this device last night. It should monitor your brain activity, so we can see the levels you go to." Cisco said as he picked up a band of silver metal. Kiera stepped forward and lowered her head, so he could place the band around her head.

Caitlin nodded toward a table of objects and Barry got the signal. He speed around, placing the random objects around a few feet of the strip.

"Now, let's start off with the easier things first and then we'll see if you want to try harder obstacles." Barry said as he led her to a plastic cup on the ground. "Do you think you can move it with your mind?" He looked over at her.

Kiera took a deep breath and nodded. She had to do this. She couldn't mess up again.

"Try just moving it along the ground until it hits your foot." He said calmly.

She nodded and looked down at the cup a few feet in front of her. She stared at it for a moment and then thought about it moving. At first nothing happened. Then it started to shake and then slowly slid along the concrete towards her. After what seemed like forever to Kiera, the cup tapped her boot and she smiled. She had done it. She looked up at Barry, then at the team behind them. Cisco made a thumbs-up sign. Caitlin monitored the screen before her, which displayed Kiera's brain activity levels. "So far so good." She said. "Great job, Kiera."

"Now lets try something harder." Cisco said as he stood and walked toward a bucket of water. "Do you think you can lift the bucket?" He said as he motioned toward the half full bucket.

"I- I don't know." She said hesitantly. She remembered the milk carton this morning.

"It's alright, Kiera." Barry said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. All of a sudden a white light flashed before Kiera's eyes and she felt different. Like somehow everything was more crowded. It was as if she could not focus on what was out in front of her eyes.

 _What is going on?_ Kiera thought.

 _Kiera? How can I hear you?_ A deeper voice said, a second later she realized it was Barry's.

 _Barry?_

 _Are you in my head?_

Kiera felt a weight lifted from her shoulder and the world came in focus again. She felt like she could breath again; like there was more room all of a sudden. She turned her head and realized Barry had stepped away. He'd taken his hand off her shoulder. Barry looked confused.

"Did you two just have a-" Cisco looked at them pointing back and forth between them. "moment?" Kiera opened her mouth to explain, but she realized she had no idea what just happened.

Caitlin walked over to the rest of the group. "Are you alright, Kiera? Your brain activity spiked very high for a minute."

"What? I-" Kiera looked over at Barry. "I think so."

"It seems contact can introduce Kiera into the person's mind." Barry said, fascinated.

"Let's work on that later." He added and Kiera nodded. This new ability terrified her. Would it be like that every time she touched another person?

"Do you think you can lift the bucket, Kiera?" Cisco said again.

"I'll try." She said and Caitlin walked back to the monitor to watch. She turned back to the bucket and instinctively put her hand out towards the bucket. She then focused on it and thought about lifting it. She went slower and calmed her mind this time. The bucket started to rise from the concrete flow. She had it hover in the air for a few seconds before she had it sit back down on the ground. She smiled once it touched down again.

"Great job!" Barry said.

"That was awesome!" Cisco chimed in.

Kiera couldn't help, but smile. "Thanks."

 _The North Point Bank. The North Point Bank_. The name repeated over and over in Kiera's mind. A feeling deep down inside Kiera felt like something was happening and it had to do with that bank. Then she felt it. _He_ was there. The other Meta-human she encountered was at that bank.

"He's-" She was cut off as an alarm sounded on Caitlin's monitor. They all looked over at her.

"The water controlling Meta-human-"

"Tidal Wave!" Cisco said, coming up with the name for the Meta-human.

"Okay, Tidal Wave," Caitlin started again, "is at the- "

"The North Point Bank." Kiera and Caitlin said together. Stunned, Caitlin looked up from her monitor.

"How did you know?" She asked.

"I don't know. I just felt it." Kiera said.

"I'm on it!" Barry said.

"Wait! I can help!" Kiera stepped forward.

"No I won't risk it. You could get hurt or worse, Kiera." Barry replied.

"I saved their lives back at the other bank. Innocent lives!" Kiera said. She wasn't sure why she was determined to go, but all she knew was it was something she _had_ to do.

Barry shook his head. "You barely know how to use your powers. It's too dangerous."

"I can do it!" Kiera said.

"Barry, she did save them all. And it seems she does better under pressure." Cisco smiled at the last part. He'd made a joke about "under pressure". Kiera had held back the pressure of the water.  
Caitlin sighed at his attempt. "I agree. She could help you."

Barry also sighed, but finally gave in. "Alright, but you will out of the way and let me take care of him!" He said and she nodded.

Barry ran to the duffle bag that contained The Flash's suit and in a flash of yellow lightning got dressed and then ran to Kiera. He grabbed her and ran towards down to take care of this Meta-human, named Tidal Wave, once and for all.

* * *

 **Writer's note: I still need your help! If you have any ideas for Kiera's Meta-human name, please review or PM me! Thank you. Remember whoever comes up with the name I like the most, will get their name (or nickname) somehow written into this story, if they want. (:**


	3. Chapter 3

**Writer's note: Thank you to those of you who reviewed and suggested names for Kiera. I still trying to find the perfect one, but I did like the ones who've sent me so far. I hope you enjoy this action packed chapter!  
**

* * *

As The Flash and Kiera arrived at the bank, a rush of water slammed into a police car and took it down the street. Screams from innocent citizens were once again heard over the waves of water. Police that just arrived on scene were trying to get out of their cars and into the bank, but a river of water flowed down the street in both directions very fast; too fast. The water was high enough to reach the car's windows and the pressure prevented the doors from opening. It seemed as if Tidal Wave had summoned all the water in Central City, causing the area around the bank to flood like the result of a Tsunami. The bank was raised up above the street by concrete steps, but almost everything else was affected by the water.

"How do we get to the bank?" Kiera asked as she and The Flash jumped up onto an empty car to avoid being swallowed up by roaring water that came towards them.

"I could try to run fast enough to run on top of the water." Barry said as he watched the water rush down the street. The river lapped at the car they stood on, almost reaching their feet. The pressure of the water started to move the cars down the street, like the police car. Kiera and The Flash tried to stay on the car as it started to move slowly away from the bank.

"I don't think that would work on the waves of this river. It's going too fast!" Kiera shouted over the rushing water.

Cisco's voice came through The Flash's earpiece. "Maybe Kiera could move the water. Divide it, like in that Bible story about Moses!" Cisco and Caitlin were still at the airstrip, monitoring the situation from the computers under the S.T.A.R. Labs' tent.

"That's brilliant, Cisco!" Barry said and turned his head towards Kiera. "Try to part the water, Kiera. "

"What?" Kiera's eyes widen. The thought frightened her. Trying to part the water was completely different from moving a bucket of water or even creating a wall.

"If you use Telepathy to part the water, then we can walk down the path and to the bank. You have to try!" He shouted to her over the roaring water. "You can do this!" He added.

Kiera looked at the violent water before their feet. She thought of what could go wrong if she messed up. "We could drown!" She shouted.

"We won't drown. It will work." The Flash said, reassuringly.

Kiera took a deep breath. She could do this. She _had_ to do this. If she didn't, the other Meta-human would get away. He'd win. Innocent Civilians could die.

She slowly raised her hands and focused on the water. She pictured the water parting in her mind. The car- now becoming a boat- was floating down the street, taking them with it. She tried to focus on only the task and not everything else around her.

The water started to move differently. It looked as if something was slowly coming down on the water, making it part.

"Kiera's readings are spiking again. Is she alright?" Caitlin said in Barry's earpiece. Barry realized Kiera still had the monitoring headpiece from the tests earlier on her head. He glanced over at her as she continued to part the water.

"She's fine. She's doing it." He said as he watched the parting of the water.

After about a minute, they could see the wet street that was buried under the water a minute ago. Barry smiled from under his mask. He didn't say anything though, not wanting to distract her. Kiera jumped down off the moving car and onto the concrete as smooth as she could. She heard The Flash do the same. They made their way down the path as fast as they could. Barry looked up and saw they were in tunnel of water. The water flowed about five feet over their heads, but they were dry underneath. It looked as if they under a tank arch they had in aquariums where fish could swim over the people inside.

Kiera continued to focus on the task of keeping the water above them as they walked. She pushed her fear out of her mind, focusing only on keep the water off of them.

After a few moments, they finally made it to the other side. They stepped up on the steps that were above the rushing river and Kiera turned towards the tunnel. She lowered her hands and the water obeyed. The river went back to one piece as if nothing happened.

"Great job!" The Flash said with a grin.

Kiera smiled back, shocked that she had done it successfully. She looked down at her hands. "I guess I really do better under pressure."

The Flash took Kiera inside the bank at super speed, careful to avoid the rumble and the mess that was once the bank's main room.

When they finally stopped, they saw the Meta-human wasn't in the main room. Instead a circular wall of water surrounded the innocent civilians and employees of the bank; trapping them inside.

"He must be in the bank's vault." The Flash whispered. "Stay here. I'll handle him. Can you get them out of here?"

Kiera nodded and looked over at him. "Be careful." He nodded and rushed off towards the vault.

Kiera took a deep breath and focused again on the water. She closed her eyes, tuning out the noise of water and the screams. She put her hands out again and started to mentally part the water wall. Once the space was big enough, she opened her eyes and shouted, "Come out! You don't need to be scared, I'll get you all to safety!"

The people watched her with wide eyes, terrified. One brave young employee stood up and walked out. The rest slowly followed. Once they all walked out of the water prison she broke the concentration and water became a solid wall once more, but this time the water jail was empty.

* * *

The Flash ran to the back of the bank to find Tidal Wave packaging money from the now nearly empty open vault. He was stuffing the money into waterproof bags as water swirled around the room almost as fast as a hurricane.

The Flash put his hand up to shield his eyes as water sprayed everywhere. "Stop!" He said.

The man looked up from what he was doing. The water made it hard to see much, but The Flash could tell he was walking toward the circling water. The Flash braced himself as the man walked through the water as if it was nothing. He stood in the center and raised his arms. The water obeyed and flew towards the Flash. Before the water hit, he ran out of the way, to the left side of the room adjoining the bank vault. Tidal Wave angrily commanded the water to get him again. The Flash tried to out run it again, but this time the water went ahead of the Flash, so that it would hit him as he ran that way. The pressure of the water made The Flash smash into a wall. Barry groaned as he fell to the floor. Another wave of water rushed towards him. It pushed against him, entering his nose and mouth, trying to drown The Flash.

Tidal Wave laughed in victory as he gripped his hand to command the water to hold The Flash against the wall. Then he stopped. He cringed as if in pain and put his hands to his forehead. The man screamed in agony and fell into the water before him, unconscious. All of the water lost its power, it stopped pinning and trying to drown The Flash. Instead it flowed away, out of the bank as if a storm had subsided. The Flash coughed up water and slowly stood up, confused.

Just as he stood, Kiera walked into the room. Her face was red with anger and effort. Her left hand was out in the direction of Tidal Wave. It seemed she was concentrating on Tidal Wave.

"Kiera! What-" Barry turned towards her as she continued to walk towards Tidal Wave who now lay in a puddle of water. "What did you do?"

Kiera turned her head towards Barry, who still had The Flash suit on. "He was going to kill you! I read his thoughts." Barry stepped toward her, concerned.

"What did you do to him?" He asked again.

Kiera lowered her hands, staring at them in disbelief. "I don't know."

"Psionic Inundation." Caitlin said into Barry's earpiece.

"A.K.A. Mental Overload or my favorite, Brain Blaster!" Cisco sad as he put touched his fingers to his thumbs on each side of his head and then pulled his hands away as he opened them to indicate an explosion in his mind. "Mind. Blown! Literally!" He grinned, excited at Kiera's new ability. "Epic!"

Barry looked at Kiera. "You mentally overloaded his mind."

Kiera looked over at the unconscious man. "Is he alright?"

The Flash walked over to Tidal Wave and kneeled down over him. He placed his hand on the man's neck. "He might have memory loss, but he's breathing."

"Cisco, Caitlin, can you bring the van around? We need to lock him in a cell." The Flash said as he stood up.

"On it!" Cisco said. Caitlin and Cisco quickly packed up their equipment and drove toward the bank in the S.T.A.R. Labs van.

* * *

Back at the bank, Kiera looked at the unconscious man lying on the tile floor. She didn't even know what she just did to him. All she knew was she had to stop him. He was going to kill her new friend, Barry. Would this man ever wake up again? Or had she turned him into half a man? A man who could never walk, or open his eyes, or even speak again? She shuddered at the thought. She might have an ability that could kill a person with only a thought. Moving things with her mind and reading people's thoughts were different. They could be used for good. But what good would come from killing a person? Yes, if the person was evil, there would be less evil in the world, but who was she to decide that and carry it out?

"Kiera?"

Kiera didn't move. She didn't hear the voice. She was too deep in her own thoughts.

Kiera?" The voice said louder and footsteps became louder. The voice brought her back to Earth. She blinked and looked around. She hadn't even seen Caitlin and Cisco arrive. The streets around the bank were clear now, so they had pulled the van out back and were wheeling Tidal Wave's unconscious body towards the back door on a gurney. She saw The Flash standing to her left looking at her, a concerned look on his face. She realized he was the one who said her name.

"What?"

"Are you alright? You were standing still, staring off into nowhere with a terrified look on your face. Did you read his thoughts or something?" He said as he stepped closer to her.

"What? Oh no. I was just thinking. That's all." She turned and followed the gurney out. She took a deep breath, trying to ignore the thousands of questions she had about herself.

"Well thank you!" Barry said as he caught up with her- not using his super speed. "Thank you for saving my life!" He thought about what he saw her do to Tidal Wave. He wasn't even sure if he saw anything happen. "However you did it." He added.

"It was no-" She paused. She was about to instinctively say 'It was nothing', but she knew it wasn't. "I mean you're welcome." She managed an unconvincing smile as they walked out the back door. He smiled back, wishing he knew how to help her.

"Oh!" He exclaimed. "The police! I'll be at the Lab shortly." He said and ran from the back door to the front entrance.

Cisco and Caitlin strapped Tidal Wave down to the gurney, just in case, and then got in the front seats. Kiera got in the seat behind Caitlin, who sat in the driver seat. She glanced back at the unconscious Meta-human who was only about a foot from her. She expected him to wake at any moment and was terrified at the thought.

"We estimate he'll be out for at least another hour." Caitlin said as she noticed Kiera's glances.

Kiera nodded, uncomfortably as the van started to move down the back street.

"Are you okay?" Caitlin added. "We noticed your brain activity spiked higher than ever when you 'Mentally overloaded' Tidal Wave's mind."

"I'll be fine." She said, watching Tidal Wave. She felt tired, but not physically, somehow it was only mentally. The picture of Tidal Wave drowning Barry played over and over in her mind and then the man's reaction when she 'Brain Blasted" him.

"I wish I could have seen it! It must have been awesome!" Cisco said with a grin, but then his grin faded as Caitlin gave him a look that told him he shouldn't have said that. "I mean I'm glad you're okay." He said as he looked back at her.

The sound of the van's engine was the only thing heard the rest of the way back to the lab. Several minutes later Caitlin parked the van and they all got out. Cisco and Caitlin pulled the gurney out of the van and Cisco rolled it towards the lab's side entrance. Kiera followed slowly, her mind still wandering to what happened earlier.

Water pressure suddenly built up in the fire hydrant at the curb. The pressure forced the hydrants cap to blow off and land far away before the team had time to react. Water now flowed out of the broken fire hydrant like the Niagara Falls, but instead of the water hitting the ground, it flowed in mid air towards the three of them. They ducked and ran for cover behind a corner of a side building. Instead of the water following them, it started to make a circle around the gurney like it did around the innocent civilians at the bank earlier. Cisco stepped out from behind the building when he realized the water wasn't after them. He watched the scene and the women followed him.

"What's happening?" Cisco whispered as he watched the water swirl, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

"He's awake." Kiera mumbled, her eyes wide with fear. This is what she feared would happen. She had been holding her breath the whole van ride, waiting for him to wake in the van. He finally did.

"We need Barry!" Caitlin said as she grabbed her phone.

* * *

 **Writer's** **Note: Cliffhanger! :D Sorry, I had to! You'll just have to wait for the next Chapter to find out what happens! Thank you all for continuing to read my story! I promise I am writing them as fast as I can. (:**


	4. Chapter 4

**Writer's** **note: I'm sorry again for how long this update took. This was the hardest chapter to write- and the longest. But here it is. I hope you all like it. (:**

* * *

Kiera, Cisco and Caitlin stood about fifty feet from the tall swirling water that developed outside of S.T.A.R. Labs. The tornado of water that surrounded the Meta-human named Tidal Wave didn't seem to slow down, but instead it kept growing as more and more water streamed from the local fire hydrant into the swirling water. Caitlin put her phone to her ear as she speed dialed Barry.

"Duck!" Kiera shouted over the roaring noise of the water. She quickly fell to the parking lot and Cisco and Caitlin did the same a second later. Right after they managed to land on the ground, a large stream of water flew over them towards the hurricane-like water formation. The trio carefully rolled out from under the stream of water and stood back up. They looked back to see the stream of water summoned by Tidal Wave was coming from the river beside S.T.A.R. Labs.

"Where's The Flash?" Cisco whispered as he looked at Caitlin. "We need him here now!" Caitlin shrugged as she indicated the phone was still ringing.

"I can try to delay him again." Kiera said as she stepped in front of Cisco and Caitlin and held her fist out towards the hurricane made by Tidal Wave. She tried to remember how she had 'Brain Blasted' him last time. She took a deep breath and tried what she could remember.

"Barry?" Caitlin said as she heard him say 'Hey. What's up?'. She explained what happened and he told her he'd be right there. Cisco and Caitlin stood back as Kiera continued to concentrate. After a minute she shook her head.

"It's not working like last time!" She shouted as she lowered her hand, confused.

* * *

Barry raced through the streets as fast as he could. He was at the bank informing the police and then he had to change quickly to become Barry Allen- the CSI assistant. He was 'late' to the scene, as always- though the police didn't know the real reason. He bagged evidence, examined the scene, and secretly told Detective Joe West what had happened.

But now Barry's friends were in trouble. He changed into the Flash costume at super speed in a dark alley and raced to S.T.A.R. Labs. Even before he turned the corner, he could see the large funnel of water growing in height in the distance and what looked like two tubes of water connected the growing hurricane of water to the river beside it. That meant two things- Tidal Wave's powers were some how growing with every second and his friends were in grave danger.

Barry's speed increased as he thought about his friends in trouble. In less than fifteen seconds, he was skidding to a stop in the Lab's parking lot. Thirty feet in front of him the tornado of water was now higher than a skyscraper. He saw Caitlin, Cisco and Kiera standing near S.T.A.R. Lab's back entrance watching the water swirl in front of them. Kiera was bravely standing in front of the two scientists, trying to use her new abilities to stop Tidal Wave's powers, but with no success. The Flash ran around the fast swirling water towards his friends.

"What happened?" He shouted over the loud noise as he reached them.

"He woke up somehow!" Caitlin said. "Kiera's Psionic Inundation didn't seem to effect him that long."

"I think he's healing himself inside that thing! He's growing stronger by the second!" Kiera shouted as she looked at the water funnel. "I can't read him that well as if the water is preventing me from getting to him. I can't seem to 'Brain Blast' him this time!"

The Flash turned toward the growing man-made hurricane, he now stood in-between his friends and the terrifying event before them.

"Maybe if we can some how cut of his water supply?" Cisco shouted as he pointed at the two tubes made of water that flowed in mid air toward the tornado. The water was being sucked into the Hurricane as it grew.

"How? He has access to an entire ocean from here!" Caitlin said as she grabbed a tablet from the van.

"Can you run fast enough in the opposite direction of the funnel to make it dissipate again?" Cisco said as he remembered The Flash doing something similar before.

"I can try." The Flash nodded and looked back at them. "Get inside!" he added, not wanting them to get in the way, where they could get hurt. Cisco and Caitlin nodded and rushed inside to monitor the event from their computers.

Kiera hesitated. "I can help!" She shouted at him.

"You said your powers aren't working. I can do this. Get to safety!" The Flash said as he studied the funnel of water, getting ready to run around it.

Kiera took a deep breath and finally moved toward the door. She opened the door and then looked back at what was happening. She felt like she could help. She didn't want The Flash doing this by himself. He was watching her though, making sure she got inside. So she sighed and stepped in the building and closed the door behind her.

The Flash ran towards the tornado when he saw she was inside- but Kiera didn't stay in for long. She sensed he was not watching anymore and she opened the door again. Stepping out she saw the streak of yellow lightning circling around the huge tornado of water. The Flash ran and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction of the swirling water.

"Barry?" Cisco said in The Flash's earpiece. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes." Barry said as he ran.

"We've got a read on Tidal Wave. Kiera was right. It seems he's using the water tunnel as a barrier while he gains more and more energy and strength. He's stronger than ever." Cisco said as he watched a computer-animated scene of what was happening outside of the labs.

"It's turning into a Category 2 hurricane, Barry. The water is going one hundred and two miles per hour." Caitlin said as looked at the readings on her monitor. "If he moves that hurricane-" She stopped, not wanting to say what they were all fearing.

"I know. If they go towards the city, it could rip a building up like it was made of cardboard!" Barry said. The dire situation made him run even faster. He wouldn't let this Meta-human destroy his city. It was _his_ city and he was going to save it.

As Tidal Wave's hurricane grew in size, speed and height, Kiera's fear grew. She watched The Flash race around in circles around the funnel of water and she felt as if her heart were in her throat. She wanted to help him, but she had no idea what she could do. The hurricane's winds made water spray everywhere, making it hard to see.

Kiera looked up at the hurricane and an idea came to her. She ran inside the Labs, looking for Cisco and Caitlin.

"Caitlin? Cisco?" She shouted at the top of her lungs as she ran down the hallway. After shouting their names for about a minute, Cisco finally heard it. He raced out of the room and down the hallway toward her voice.

"Kiera?" Cisco called back," What's wrong?"

Cisco and Kiera almost ran into each other as they rounded a corner in the hallway.

"Cisco! I think I know how we can get to Tidal Wave!" Kiera said as she caught her breath.

"How?" Cisco asked, intrigued.

Kiera ran down the hallway towards the main lab that was now used as The Flash's headquarters. She wanted to explain her idea to both of them at the same time. Cisco sighed as she ignored him and he ran after her. He caught up to her and then led the rest of the way, when Kiera realized she had no idea where she was going.

Once they reached the lab, Kiera ran in and stood before the computers, so she could tell her idea. The mounted monitors behind her showed a computer-animated model of the hurricane with measurements of speed, height, and depth, as well as The Flash's speed and vitals.

Cisco half fell, half sat in his chair, curious as to what her idea was.

"I think I can open a hole in the hurricane like I did for the people in the bank that were inside a similar swirl of water. This one is much stronger and faster, but I think I can do it! I can open it long enough for Barry and I to get through and get us inside the eye of the hurricane." She explained as she demonstrated with her hands in front the monitor that showed the hurricane.

"It could work." Cisco said as he ran the idea through his head.

"What if you're not strong enough to keep it open, Kiera?" Barry said over the intercom. He was listening to the whole thing as he continued to run around the growing hurricane. "He's much stronger now and you barely know what you're doing."

"I can do it." Kiera said, determined. "When we get inside I can probably 'Brain Blast' him again, because he won't have the water to shield to prevent me from getting into his mind. And if I can get close enough to touch him, I could enter his mind and find his weakness."

"I don't know." Caitlin said slowly as she thought it over. She was not convinced it would work. There were too many risks and too many things that could go wrong.

"I have to try. There's no time!" Kiera said.

Cisco nodded and stood up. "She's right."

Barry sighed and slowed down as he ran away from the hurricane. His idea wasn't working and they didn't have time to think of anything else. The hurricane was growing with every passing second. He placed his hands on his thighs, leaning over as he caught his breath. "We can try. But, Kiera," Barry paused, "If it's too much for you, promise me you'll stop and let me try to finish him."

Kiera closed her eyes. She didn't want to picture what could happen if she failed. They could both get injured. If they stepped into that swirling water, their bodies would get sucked up and end up who knows where. They could both die. The Flash would be dead. She didn't want to be responsible for The Flash's death. She knew she'd use her powers to save him, if she had to. He was the hero of this town and she was a nobody. No one would miss her, but everyone in Central City would mourn The Flash. She took a deep breath to relax herself and push those thoughts from her mind.

"I promise." She said to convince him, but she knew she would do whatever it took to take this evil Meta-human down and save Barry.

"You'll need more protection than just those street clothes." Cisco said as he nodded at her soaked clothing. "Since we learned of your powers yesterday, I've started working on a costume for you." He grinned widely. He loved to make awesome costumes for heroes. "It's nowhere near done, but it will work for now." Cisco said as he raced downstairs to get his project.

"For me?" Kiera looked at him stunned.

"That's kind of he's thing." Caitlin said with a smile as she watched him run off.

As Cisco got the costume together, The Flash watched as the Hurricane of water continue to grow in height and width. S.T.A.R. Lab's parking lot was almost completely inside of it. The Flash knew that soon it would be too late to try to even attempt to stop Tidal Wave.

Cisco ran back into the room carrying a light blue and light gray patched costume. It was rough, looking like a weird army bodysuit, but Kiera's mouth opened in awe. No one had done anything like this for her before.

"I had to guess your size, so it might not fit perfectly. It's made of an armored material that will protect you though." Cisco said as he handed it to her.

She smiled and startled Cisco with a hug. Cisco relaxed and grinned. A beautiful woman was literally in his arms. "Thank you." She said as she pulled out of his hug. She raced into another room to try it on. A minute later she came back into the room with a wide smile.

The costume almost fit perfectly on her slender body. The material was plainly stitched, as Cisco hadn't had time to design the final touches on it yet, but it still made her look like she could fight beside The Flash, better than she did in her jeans, t-shirt, and jacket.

"Kiera, if you still want to do this you need to hurry. It's growing fast." The Flash said as he looked up at the water funnel. Water was spraying everywhere, drenching everything and The Flash had to hold up his arm to shield his eyes.

"Right! Sorry!" Kiera said as she remembered her task. Before she could ran out of the room, Cisco stopped her and held out his hand. He was holding a silver circlet for her head- just like the one she had on for the testing yesterday- and a simple gray mask to go over her eyes. "News cameras are gathering outside. I don't think you want them to know your identity. That's why Barry wears a mask." Cisco said.

Kiera nodded and put the mask on her face as he placed the circlet on her blonde hair. Caitlin handed her an earpiece so they could talk to her and Kiera put it in her ear quickly. Kiera smiled and nodded in thanks to both of them, as she finally looked ready to fight.

"The costume will look better when I finish it!" Cisco shouted after Kiera as she rushed down the hallway. Kiera laughed as she ran. The costume was surprisingly very comfortable and she had been able to put her own black boots on over the thin but durable material. She was impressed he was able to do even this much of the costume in one night.

Caitlin monitored the hurricane's specs on her computer. "It's now a Category 3 Hurricane." She said as she saw the wind speeds were now going one hundred and twenty miles per hour. This is when the news would call it a "major" hurricane.

A minute later Kiera pushed open the door and walked out of S.T.A.R. Labs. She saw news vans Cisco had mentioned. Cameras and news people were lined up along a metal fence police had put up to keep civilians away from the event, as well as civilians who wanted to watch the action. Police were watching the hurricane and keeping everyone well away from hurricane for their safety, but several young people were trying to get closer as they filmed it with their phones wanting to show their friends on social media that they were there at the sight. Kiera turned her attention towards the growing hurricane, which had almost doubled since she was last outside. She stood there speechless for a minute. It was so wide that a skyscraper could easily have fit inside and no one would be able to tell.

"Cisco never fails to add the flare." Barry joked and laughed, seeing Kiera's costume as he walked toward her, but also smiled- impressed at his work on her costume.

Kiera returned to realty at his voice. "I like it-" she paused and laughed, "surprisingly!" She said, teasingly.

"Hey! What does that mean?" Cisco said into their earpieces and everyone laughed.

Barry's face became serious quickly. He knew they still had a job to do. He turned his head towards Kiera and said, "Do you think you can do this?"

Kiera's smile faded and she nodded in response. She took a deep breath and she held out her hands in the direction of the swirling water. She closed her eyes and focused on thinking about opening a hole at the base of the whirling hurricane. She imagined it over and over in her mind until it was as clear as if she were actually seeing it.

"It's working!" The Flash shouted over the noise of the roaring water. A small hole was starting to form in the hurricane's base and it started to grow larger with every second. Kiera didn't hear Barry, but she could feel something was happening. She opened her eyes slowly to see she'd actually done it. She stepped forward as she focused on making it larger and larger. She needed it large enough for them to walk single filed inside. The Flash followed behind her, watching the hurricane, but keeping her in the corner of his eye. He still wasn't sure if she could do this without proper training.

After a few minutes, they were within eight feet of the roaring hurricane. It was going so fast that the wind made it hard for them to continue forward. Kiera looked back at The Flash to make sure he was still there and that he was ready to step inside.

Under The Flash's mask, Barry nodded to her to tell her he was ready and she turned her head back around to face the hold in the hurricane. She held her hands up to keep the walls of the hole firm as they started to walk in. She focused on making sure the water swirled away from them.

Barry held his arms out in front of him to help gently push Kiera forward, who was losing her footing as she tried to focus on the hole. He knew she would lose focus if she fell, so he needed to help her move forward. Kiera was so focused on keeping the water off them, that this time Barry's touch didn't bring her into his mind. They kept walking under the hurricane as Kiera mentally kept the path open for them. The roar of the water was almost deafening as the walked through it. Barry focused on keeping Kiera upright and watching in front of them for the hole to open and reveal the inside- or 'eye'- of the hurricane.

Kiera was suddenly having trouble keeping the water from hitting them. The water was going so fast that the weight of holding it up with her mind was like carrying a building. Her head was starting to pound. All this effort was starting to take its toll on her mind. She gritted her teeth and continued on, not giving up.

"Barry! Kiera's readings are spiking! Even she can't take this for much longer! Her activity level is almost what three people total should have!" Caitlin said, worried for Kiera's safety. Barry could hardly hear Caitlin's voice over the sound of the water.

"I can do it!" Kiera said, having barely heard what Caitlin said also. "We are almost there!" She could feel the end of the wall of water was coming up. Barry looked at Keira concerned, but knew they had no choice but to try to go on.

A minute later the water opened up in front of them and they could see the center of the tornado. Light poured in and Barry could see Tidal Wave inside. He narrowed his eyes. They were only five feet from the eye of the hurricane. Barry knew he could outrun the closing of the water and he knew Kiera could not take this much longer. The Flash grabbed Kiera in his arms and ran at super speed into the eye of the hurricane, past the swirling water. As The Flash ran, Kiera lost her concentration and the rushing water started to fall and form a wall again.

The Flash stopped and placed Kiera on her feet once they reached the center of the hurricane. Everything was bright and yet calm. Barry remembered seeing a documentary from school about a hurricane. It had said that the center of a hurricane was actually the calmest part of the storm. Barry looked up at the water swirled around them; making a circular wall that went up and up until it reached the clouds. But inside the massive water hurricane everything was still and peaceful. It almost made him forget what they were there for.

Barry remembered Kiera and looked over at her. She was shaking from the task of holding up the water. Kiera's mind was spinning from the effort it took to hold up the water. Blood dripped from her nose. "Are you alright, Kiera?" He whispered, concerned.

She nodded slowly and wiped the blood from her lip. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

The Flash turned his eyes towards Tidal Wave, his anger towards the evil Meta-human has been growing since the first robbery attempt yesterday. Tidal Wave was standing in the center of the hurricane, his back to them and his hands raised above his head. The man had not noticed they had gotten inside. Barry narrowed his eyes behind The Flash's mask. He was going to end this! Tidal Wave was not going to hurt anyone else.

"Stay here. I'll deal with him while you recover." The Flash whispered and then he ran towards the other Meta-human. The eye of the storm was now about the length of a football field. The only thing that made it look like a parking lot were the white lines for parked cars. The cars that were once parked here were now swirling up in the hurricane.

Kiera watched as it only took a couple seconds for The Flash to reach the man. He now stood only a few feet from Tidal Wave and was ready to fight. Kiera pushed the pain and pounding in her head from her mind and stepped forward as she watched. She was standing at the edge of the water, far away from the two men, but she was ready to help The Flash in any way she could. She wasn't going to let him lose this fight- or die- on her watch.

"Jack Clark!" The Flash shouted at the man, using Tidal Wave's real name as he placed his feet in a ready position- in case he had to run.

Tidal Wave opened his eyes and whipped around to face The Flash. He hadn't expected anyone to make it inside the hurricane. His eyes narrowed and he flicked his hand toward The Flash, not liking that he had made it inside while he was gaining strength. Some of the water flew out of the swirling hurricane of water and formed a pressurized stream towards The Flash. He was too fast though, and in a streak of yellow he was already behind Tidal Wave, well away from the water.

The man screamed in anger and turned quickly to face him again, sending another stream of water mid air towards The Flash. Tidal Wave and The Flash played this came of "Catch" for several minutes, until The Flash ran towards him and punched the man hard in the gut. The speed of the punch sent the man flying towards the opposite edge of the Hurricane and he slammed right into the gurney where he'd been laying only half an hour before. The man gritted his teeth in pain and got up quickly. The strength he'd gained from the water, made it easier for him to regain himself. As Tidal Wave stood up he commanded a wave of water to bring him back towards The Flash in only a few seconds, like a surfer on a surfboard.

"How do I help him?" Kiera asked Cisco and Caitlin, her voice sounded weak, but even though she might physically feel weak, she still could help him with her mind. She had to, no matter what.

"Maybe you can use your telepathy to hold him down so Barry can get to him easier?" Cisco asked.

"Your abilities are putting too much strain on her body, Kiera. You are too weak. Trying to do another telepathic push could put you in a coma-" Caitlin paused and glanced over at Cisco. She didn't want to say it, but she knew Kiera needed to hear it, "or worse." She whispered.

"I have to help Barry. Tidal Wave's too strong for him alone." Kiera said as she watched The Flash and Tidal Wave fight. The Flash had his speed and Tidal Wave had his control over water and his growing strength. She knew even The Flash could not keep up this fight for too long. And idea came to her.

"If I can get close enough to touch him, I could get in his mind and find his weakness." Kiera mumbled out loud.

"That's too risky! He'd hurt you!" Cisco said as he leaned toward the microphone, trying to convice Kiera not to do it.

"I have to try." Kiera said as she ran toward the scene. The parking lot's asphalt was now wet below her feet from Tidal Wave's water attacks, but she continued on. The Flash glanced behind Tidal Wave as he saw Keira run towards the fight. This distraction allowed the other Meta-human's water to slam The Flash to the floor. Barry gritted his teeth and tried to get back up, but the water's pressure prevented him from moving.

"No!" Kiera screamed as she witnessed the whole thing. She ran faster, desperate to help Barry. Just as Tidal Wave moved his head in the direction of Kiera's scream, Kiera was able to place her hand on his shoulder.

Kiera felt a jolt go through her body and saw white flash in front of her eyes. Like the first time with Barry, everything around her was out of focus. She felt as if she was stuffed in clown car, her mind was overloaded with information. Images, thoughts and conversations started appearing in her mind. She saw the battles at the bank, but this time from Tidal Wave's perspective. She saw how he trained for months to get used to his Meta-human skills. She then saw the accident on the night of S.T.A.R. Lab's particle explosion. He was drowning. She felt a tightness in her throat as she experienced what he experienced. A flash of a scene with what seemed to be his family was appearing before her eyes as she felt something grab her arm and pull her against something firm. At first she thought it was just her experiencing one of his memories, but then what could have been a pain in her arm and shoulder jolted her awake from the memories. Everything around her was still out of focus, but she could tell she was now being held by Tidal Wave. He had one hand gripped tight on her arm, holding it against her back. She could see the blurry image of The Flash standing about ten feet in front of them.

"Let her go! You don't have to do this! We can end this now! Surrender!" She heard Barry say- he was giving the Meta-human one last chance to surrender. Barry's voice was distant though; it felt like she was in a fish bowl. Everything seemed muddled. Her mind was trying to focus on Tidal Wave's mind, her own mind and what was happening outside. She heard herself scream in pain, but it seemed strange, as if she wasn't even in her own body.

"Let. Her. Go!" Barry shouted again, this time angrier. Kiera was being harmed by Tidal Wave. He had to do something.

"Ah, but you see, now I have everything I need. Leverage over you! You don't want your precious little girlfriend to get hurt do you? So sweet! Well actually so sad!" She heard Tidal Wave's voice say from what seemed like behind her, but his voice sounded deeper and seemed to rattle her insides. She heard herself scream again and she felt what she realized was a pain in what she guessed was her shoulder as he pulled her arm tighter behind her back.

She saw the outline of The Flash step forward as if Tidal Wave's taunting had made him even angrier- or maybe it was her scream.

She needed to do her task- find Tidal Wave's weakness. She tried to focus on his memories. The world in front her eyes faded away. She could no longer hear the voices, feel the pain, or see The Flash, she instead felt herself getting terrified, but it didn't seem to just be her own feelings. It was Tidal Wave's emotions. He was terrified and a little angry. She realized he was just playing this part of a villain. He was actually terrified. Terrified of his powers. Terrified of losing his family, because they saw him change into a man they didn't recognize. He just played a powerful evil Meta-human in order to help his family. And most of all- terrified of The Flash. That jolted her into her own mind again. She felt the world come back to her. She could see The Flash again- and this time clearly. She screamed in pain as she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and forearm. This time the scream was clear. She felt herself breath again. She felt like there was more room, some how more room in her mind. She could feel her feet on the ground. She could feel her back being pushed up against the man's chest.

She had left Tidal Wave's mind.

She had to tell Barry what she found out. But if she shouted it to him, Tidal Wave would know what she'd learned. She had to tell him without Tidal Wave knowing.

"Your girlfriend will drown if you don't let me leave!" Tidal Wave sounded at The Flash. She saw The Flash clench his gloved hand. He looked like he was going to explode. She knew he couldn't rush and grab her from the man's grasp without risking her arm being pulled back so far it would break.

She suddenly felt her legs were wet. She glanced down and saw water was travelling up her legs. Soon it would reach her mouth and nose and she wouldn't be able to breath. She really would drown. She tried to push the water down with her mind, but the pain in her arm was too much. She couldn't focus. Her head pounded and her arm felt like knives were stabbed into it.

She quickly remembered being able to talk to Barry with her mind, but she wasn't touching him now. She was far from him. She had to try anyways. It was her last chance.

 _Barry? Barry!_ She screamed in her mind, trying desperately to focus on getting into his head. She said his name over and over, concentrating as hard as she could.

 _Kiera? Is that really you?_ She heard a voice say. _How are you in my mind this time?_ Barry's faced showed confusion for a second, but then made his face blank, so Tidal Wave couldn't tell.

It was Barry's voice! She felt a wave of relief flow through her. She could not feel his mind, but at least she could communicate with him.

 _I don't know, but that doesn't matter right now! He's scared! He's terrified!_

 _Who is? Tidal Wave?_ Barry's voice asked.

 _Yes! Tidal Wave! You can use that! Use his fear against him!_

Kiera felt the water had reached her hips. They had to do something and fast!

Barry thought fast. He still stood about fifteen feet from Tidal Wave and Kiera, watching the water rise slowly up Kiera's body. Soon she'd be drowning like he almost did in the bank.

The bank! That's it. Last time they stunned him with electricity. _He_ was the electricity. Barry felt it surge through his body. The Speed Force allowed him access to lightning. His heart was pounding so fast that he could feel it in chest, as if the electricity was what was flowing through his veins instead of blood. But if he used that electricity to hurt Tidal Wave, it would also affect Kiera. He tried to think. It was so hard to focus when his friend was in danger. She was about to drown.

Think, Barry, think!

Then he had it. He knew what to do.

 _Do you think you can 'Brain Blast' him again?_ He asked her with his mind.

She nodded slightly towards The Flash, fear starting to take over her own body. She had to do this. She had to try. She could feel the water reach her chest. She somehow knew attacking Tidal Wave's mind would work again. She was touching him. She had more control. Why hadn't she thought of that before?

 _Are you ready?_ Barry asked her as he took a deep breath, ready to do his part. He was going to stun the man and scare him even more. Hopefully that would make him stop.

 _Yes._

'Three. Two. One." Kiera shouted out loud as she kept her eyes locked on The Flash. Right has she said 'one' she visualized attacking Tidal Wave's mind, overloading him with information, pictures- anything. She was only able to focus long enough to stun him for a second, but that was all The Flash needed.

Tidal Wave screamed in pain and loosened his grip on Kiera's arm. He put his free hand to his temple and closed his eyes tight to try to ease the pain. The Flash ran towards Kiera. In slow motion he got a hold of Kiera and pulled her free from the evil Meta-human's now loosened grasp. Kiera held her breath as the water stopped at her throat and The Flash pulled her through the water. With Kiera secure, The Flash ran away from Tidal Wave. He put Kiera down at one end of the eye of the hurricane and then ran towards him again. This time he ran circles around the man.

Tidal Wave's head started to feel better and looked around to see the yellow lightning all around him. He screamed in frustration and fear and tried to get the Flash with the water that was once used to try to drown Kiera. That is what The Flash needed. He continued to run around the man, building up electricity behind him. In a few seconds the electricity surged into the water and found it's way to Tidal Wave. Just as The Flash's yellow lightning reached the other Meta-human, The Flash sped away from him. He stopped beside Kiera and they watched.

The man light up like a Christmas tree as the electricity hit him and it seemed to spread over his skin. Tidal Wave flung his arms up and screamed as his body surged with electricity. The Flash watched in horror. He didn't mean to do this much harm. He had lost himself in anger and overdid it. As Tidal Wave was being electrocuted, his power of the hurricane of water around them started to fade. The pain caused him to lose his focus and the hurricane started to slow down and fall in waves toward the parking lot's asphalt.

"We need to get out of here! The water will wash us away if we don't move!" The Flash said as he looked up at the water falling towards them from the extraordinary height.

Kiera didn't hear him; she was being overwhelmed with sadness. Her mind had been connected to Tidal Wave. She knew what he felt now. She was watching a man suffer in pain. Even though he tried to kill them several times, she didn't feel like he should die. She wished this could have ended differently. Barry's voice snapped her back to reality. She followed his gaze up towards the approaching wave and gasped.

"How do we get out?" She asked.

The Flash looked around. The once hurricane, was now falling instead of swirling, but it was still a wall of water and they would not be able to get through the waterfall of fast moving water. His head whirled around in every direction and his body followed as he tried to look for a way out. If he didn't find one, they'd be carried out into the river at a very fast speed or electrocuted. They wouldn't survive the trip.

Kiera looked in the direction of the dying man again and their eyes locked. She saw the fear and desperation in his eyes. He was no longer angry at the world, just afraid to die. In only one second, a memory flashed before her eyes, a memory that was familiar. It was not one of her memories, but instead one memory that she'd seen when she looked through Tidal Wave's memories.

The memory was of his family. The image was of Central City's park. The man, his beautiful wife, and his two children were sitting on a picnic blanket on the park's grass. It was a peaceful sunny day and everyone was laughing. They were happy and they loved each other. Everything was perfect.

A tear rolled down Kiera's cheek as she saw the image. He just wanted to be with his family. He wanted them to be safe. He was doing all of this only to make sure his family had money they need to survive, since he'd lost his job on the night of his accident.

 _I will make sure they are safe and that they know you love them with all your heart. You have my word, Jack_. She said to him with her mind. A tear fell down the man's cheek in response and he nodded his head. Before the man took his last breath, he flung his arm in front of him and used all his power he could muster to separate the falling water for them.

 _Go!_ He said to her. _Get out of here!_

Kiera looked towards the now safe exit and then back at the man.

 _Thank you._ She mentally said. She nudged The Flash and pointed at their escape route.

The Flash turned quickly and saw the opening in the water. The water was falling fast; they only had a few seconds before it would close. He took a hold of Kiera and ran out of dying hurricane. In a blink, Kiera looked at the man one last time and saw him falling to the wet parking lot floor, dead.

In a streak of yellow, The Flash and Kiera now stood on the roof of S.T.A.R. Labs. They watched the sad, but also beautiful scene below them. Water was falling from the sky and it all rushed back out into the river. Boats, cars and anything else close by were washed down the river toward the ocean.

After about fifteen minutes, everything was silent and eerie. It looked as if the river had come ashore and swallowed everything insight before retreating back. It almost seemed unbelievable that a deadly Meta-human battle had just taken place down there a short time ago.

"Are you alright?" Barry said as he turned to Kiera.

Kiera's eyes scanned the river for any sign of the man who once commanded those waters, but she didn't see any body floating on the waves. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said in a somber voice. "He's dead. He didn't deserve to die."

"We had no choice. He was going to kill you. He might have destroyed the city if that hurricane had moved." Barry whispered, seeing how sad Kiera looked. He felt bad for causing the end of that man's life.

"I know. It wasn't your fault. He was just trying to take care of his family." She paused, remembering the beautiful park image. "He loved them so much. I just wish…" She trailed off, not knowing what to say. Another tear fell from her eye. Her emotions were intense. She had experienced Tidal Wave's emotions and memories on top of her own.

"You can't start that, Kiera. If you think of what could have happened, it will rip you apart." Barry replied, speaking from experience. "Maybe we can find his family and you can tell them how much he loved them."

"I'd like that." She whispered back as she slowly looked over at him. Their eyes met and Barry felt sympathy for her. Her eyes were filled with sadness and she felt a touch of that sadness. He had seen that something went on between Kiera and Tidal Wave before the Meta-human's death. Barry couldn't imagine what it must have been like.

He leaned in slowly, until their lips met for a brief few seconds. He wasn't thinking; it was almost involuntary. It just seemed like the only thing he could do to help her feel better.

Their eyes closed as they kissed and Kiera placed her hand next to The Flash's lightning emblem, but then Kiera pulled her head back awkwardly. She took a step back and lowered her hand to her side again.

"Uh, I um," she looked down awkwardly, not sure what just happened. Her emotions felt jumbled. She was not expected that kiss.

"Right, uh sorry." Barry looked out at the parking lot below them. "We should get down from here." Barry said awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. He took a hold of Kiera and ran down the side of S.T.A.R. Labs' circular building in a blur of yellow. The Flash ran inside the building and towards the lab where Cisco and Caitlin were. He placed Kiera in the middle of the room, looking at Cisco and Caitlin over the desk of computers. He stood next to her and finally took off his mask, pushing the mask hoodie down behind him. Caitlin and Cisco stood up quickly and ran around the desk to make sure they were okay. Kiera took his lead and pulled the gray mask from her face.

Caitlin rushed to prepare the side room for Barry, who Kiera just noticed was injured from Tidal Wave and The Flash's battle. He had a scrape on his chin and probably a lot other unseen injuries. The fatigue finally caught up with Kiera as her adrenaline went down. She felt the pain come back to her arm and shoulder. Then she saw the room spin and her legs gave out. Her mind had just been in battle. This was the first time she had extremely used her abilities and her mind was complaining. Everything went black.

"Woah!" She heard Cisco say and she felt someone catch her as she fell. She heard her name frantically said over and over, but somehow the voices seemed to fade away. It was as if she was in a dark pool and had no way of swimming to the surface.

* * *

 **Writer's** **note: Please note that I still need help with a Meta-human name for Kiera. If you have any ideas, please review or private message me. The person who comes up with the one I will decide to use can have the option of having their name- or nickname- somehow appear in a future chapter, if they'd like. (:**

 **Thank you all for reading! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can!**


	5. Chapter 5

In only one second, Kiera saw Jack Clark's- the Meta-human who was named Tidal Wave-whole life play in her mind. She still had all of his memories. She felt another wave of emotion flow through her. His death replayed over and over in her mind. In his last few seconds, she knew he regretted what he did. He regretted becoming that angry man who didn't care about others. He had realized he'd gone too far. All he wanted was his family safe, but things got out of hand. He thought he deserved the money his work did not give him after his accident. He wanted it for his family, to make sure they could survive these hard times. That's all he wanted and now he was gone; he wouldn't be able to care for them anymore.

Kiera realized she wasn't awake. She had fallen a few seconds ago. Something was wrong. Where was she? She needed to wake up! She needed to push those memories behind her and wake up!

Kiera gasped for air as she sat up, her eyes wide. She looked around, not knowing where she was. Everything looked strange. She was in a small room with dim lights for a ceiling and one wall was made of glass, the others looked like they were made of metal. She looked down and saw she was sitting on a hospital bed, but the room told her she wasn't in a hospital. She looked around again, confused. Everything around her looked very clean like a hospital, but there were computers, microscopes, tools and glass beakers on tables lining the room. There were also chairs in front of the tables. It looked like a lab. On the other side of the glass she saw other rooms- one bigger and the other very similar to the one she was in.

Her heart sped up. Where was she? Was she being experimented on? What was going on? Her quickened heart rate set of a series of alarms. She looked for the source of the alarms and saw she was hooked up to machines by tubes and wires. One of the state of the art monitors on top of a box-like machine displayed her vitals and brain activity. What were they doing to her?

Kiera tried to pull a hat shaped machine that was strapped on her head off. It had all kinds of wires hooked up to it as if it was from some kind of Science Fiction movie. Before she could get it off, a familiar brown haired woman rushed through the other rooms and into the small room Kiera sat in. She looked at the woman. Kiera should have been scared, but the woman looked so familiar, she just couldn't place where she'd seen her before.

"Hey! You're awake! Kiera, it's okay! It's okay. You are safe. We just had these on to monitor you while you were unconscious." She said soothingly as she tried to help Kiera get the headpiece off. The woman did everything calmly, trying to show Kiera that everything was okay. She pulled off the wires attached to Kiera and then carefully pulled out a needle from her arm that looked like the same thing they had at hospitals. Kiera noticed for the first time that she was in different clothes under a blanket on her lap. She had on a black t-shirt that had a logo and the words "S.T.A.R. Labs" across it and she had on what looked like blue pajama pants on. She tried to remember what she was wearing before, but everything seemed foggy and trying to access her recently memories made her brain hurt. She looked back up at the familiar woman with brown curled hair as she turned off machines and tapped display monitors. Kiera definitely knew her from somewhere, but she couldn't place it.

"Who are you?" Kiera asked her as she watched the woman a set of disconnected wires away. "Where am I?" She looked around the room, now that she looked at it closer this place looked familiar also.

"You don't remember who I am, Kiera?" The woman looked at her concerned. "I feared this might happened. Your mind went through a lot. You've been unconscious for a while."

Kiera shook her head. "Who are you? Unconscious? For how long?" Kiera asked, her eyes widening. She could have sworn she was awake just a few moments before she woke up just now.

"My name is Caitlin. We'll answer all of your questions when Cisco and Barry get here." The woman said.

Cisco and Barry? Why did those names sound familiar? Kiera looked confused. The woman picked up her phone. She dialed a number and then spoke into it.

"Barry, get here as soon as you can. She's awake." Caitlin said into the phone. After she hung up, she went to an intercom box on the wall and pressed a button. Caitlin leaned toward the intercom and said, "Cisco, come upstairs as soon as you can. She's awake."

The woman then walked over and sat on the edge of the hospital bed Kiera was sitting on. "They will be here soon and then we can go through everything. How are you feeling? Does your head hurt?" She asked Kiera nicely.

"It does hurt a little." Kiera nodded slowly. "Especially when I try to recall what happened." Her head pounded in protest as she tried to remember again.

A Hispanic looking young man with shoulder length black hair ran into the room adjoining the one the women were sitting in, he then turned and rushed into the smaller room. He stopped beside the bed and tried to catch his breath. Kiera realized he also looked familiar, but she also couldn't figure out from where.

"Are you okay, Kiera?" The man asked, concern written all over his face. "Do you need anything? Water? Coffee? Another pillow?" He asked one question after the other quickly.

Caitlin laughed and told the young man to calm down.

Kiera smiled at his kind offers. "Are you Barry or Cisco?" She asked, remembering the names spoken earlier.

"Cisco Ramon, at your service." He said, imitating a medieval person, which made the women laugh.

"Well um, nice to meet you Cisco Ramon…" Kiera rubbed her forehead, her head hurting as she tried to think about where she met him before. "again." She added as she held out a hand.

"We went farther than that last time." Cisco smirked as he looked at her hand and shook it.

"Cisco!" Caitlin shouted at him.

"Okay I didn't mean it like that!" Cisco said as he held up his hands in surrender. "I swear! I meant we hugged last time. That's all!"

Kiera laughed awkwardly. She was starting to calm down. She didn't feel like some sort of lab experiment anymore. She felt comfortable around these people, but she still couldn't remember them.

As they all laughed, a streak of yellow came into the rooms and all of a sudden a good-looking man around Kiera's age was sitting in a chair on the other side of the bed from Caitlin. Kiera gasped at the sudden appearance, not remembering she knew whom The Flash was.

"You're-" She stopped. A memory came back to Kiera suddenly. She was standing somewhere outside and that man was kissing her before she pulled back. She felt her face get hot and she shifted on the bed. "Uh, um," She tried to remember what she was going to ask him, "you're The Flash?" Kiera asked him, as she tried to stop that image from playing over and over in her mind.

"You don't remember who I am, Kiera? I'm Barry Allen. And yes, I'm The Flash." The man looked concerned like the others, he looked over at Caitlin as if for an explanation.

"Don't feel bad, dude. She doesn't remember any of us." Cisco said as he sat in another chair.

"I warned you this might happen. Her mind was not ready for all of that action yet. She overloaded her brain and it caused memory loss and caused her to go unconscious. I am not certain if it's permanent or temporary. It took a while for her to even wake up. We'll have to monitor you, Kiera." Caitlin said.

"Overloaded my brain?" Kiera asked as she felt her heart beat faster. "How long was I unconscious? You make it sound like it's been a long time. It like less than a minute!"

"It was longer than a minute, I'll tell you that!" Cisco said as he spun in the chair.

"Kiera, you were unconscious for almost five days." The young man named Barry said.

"Five days?!" Kiera's eyes widen. "No. No! That's not possible!" She shook her head and tried to get out of the bed. Barry leaned forward and pushed her down gently with one hand; concerned she wasn't ready to get up yet. Kiera gasped as she saw a flash of light, before her lost memories started flooding in. Barry's touch had caused them to link minds again and made her mind focus on what happened. She remembered the bank robberies, meeting The Flash, Cisco and Caitlin, and the fight in the hurricane.

"What's wrong, Kiera? Are you okay?" Barry whispered. Cisco and Caitlin stood up, not sure what was going on.

"I remember now. I remember everything." Kiera opened her eyes as her mind processed everything. She looked around. "We are in S.T.A.R. Labs." The three scientists sighed silently in relief. The memory loss wasn't permanent.

"What happened? Why was I unconscious for so long?" Kiera looked at them as she still tried to grasp that she was out for five days.

"It seems everything you did last week finally caught up with you. Your brain isn't used to using your abilities to that extreme yet. It caused your brain to go into a hibernation of sorts, as it tried to recover." Cisco said.

"We ran several tests while you were unconscious. Your brain levels spiked and then dropped and continued doing that pattern over and over again. Because of that one of us was always close by, in case you one of those spikes or drops in brain activity effected your body." Caitlin explained as she showed the results on a screen next to Kiera. "Did you experience anything while you were unconscious?" The young female doctor asked as she looked back at her.

"I kept seeing Tidal Wave's life." Kiera said as she looked down at her hands. She remembered the fight that ended up taking his life.

"Interesting! Whenever you touch someone and enter their mind, it seems you see their memories and retain them after the person is gone or away from their touch." Cisco said, intrigued.

"And she creates a link to the person where she can communicate with their mind." Barry added as he looked over at her. Kiera looked back at him as they remembered their conversation inside the hurricane.

"Awesome!" Cisco grinned and they all laughed.

"Oh! And I finished your suit!" Cisco's grin widened even more. "You're going to love it!" He ran out of the room and downstairs to the workroom to get the suit.

"Do you need anything, Kiera? Water? You're probably starving. We can go to Big Belly Burger after we make sure you strong enough to walk." Caitlin said.

"Some water would be good. Thank you." Kiera nodded and smiled. Caitlin nodded back and walked out of the room to get a water bottle for her, leaving Kiera alone with Barry.

Kiera felt her face warm up as she remembered the kiss again. Before she could say anything, Barry spoke up.

"I tried to talk to you while you were unconscious. I thought maybe since we already had a connection it might work, but I guess it's one way. You have to be the one that starts communicating for it to work."

Kiera looked over at the young man sitting next to the bed. He'd tried to see if she was okay. He had tried the mind connection as a way to talk to her and make sure she was doing all right. Right after she collapsed she remembered hearing her name over and over. She now realized it was Barry trying to speak to her.

"I think I heard you." Kiera said, "But your voice sounded so far away. I guess my mind couldn't focus on your voice. Thank you for trying. " They smiled at each other.

Without thinking, Barry reached out and placed his hand on hers. "I'm glad you're a-" He stopped as his touch made their minds connect once more. A bright white light flashed before Kiera's eyes and then the room went out of focus. The last five days appeared in front of her, but through Barry's eyes. He ran a lot in those five days. She felt his emotions as he had tried to figure out what happened between them. What the kiss meant. What his feelings were. He had tried to put it aside by running fast and saving lives. While Kiera was unconscious he was either by her bedside or helping citizens in Central City. No Meta-human fights though, just the regular burglaries, car chases, etc. It was enough to distract him for a little while. But Kiera felt that she was on his mind a lot and suddenly she felt her own heart beat faster. That realization snapped Kiera back to the small room and out of Barry's mind.

She awkwardly looked at a wall, not wanting to make eye contact with Barry, while she tried to figure out how she felt. She felt guilty for seeing and experiencing Barry's private thoughts and time. She hadn't meant to enter his mind. She needed to learn how to control that power better. "I uh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." She mumbled as Barry took his hand away. "I don't know how to control that." She had

"Right, uh, well-" Before Barry could say anything else, Cisco ran back into the room pushing something about his height in front of him. The object was covered with a black cloth, but Kiera guessed it was her suit that was underneath. She sat up straight, pushing what just happened between Barry and her out of her mind and focusing on Cisco. Cisco's grin almost went from ear to ear as he stood at the foot of the bed next to his finished project. He had no clue of what just happened between Barry and Kiera.

Caitlin walked in few second later with a bottle of water in one hand. She handed it to Kiera and sat back down to watch the reveal. She'd seen how excited Cisco was about this costume and she wanted to finally see it. Kiera thanked her for the water and took several gulps. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was until she'd finished the bottle in a matter of seconds. She set the empty plastic bottle down beside her and looked back up at Cisco who looked like he was going to explode if he had to wait any longer.

"Okay, here it goes." Cisco said as he pulled the black cloth off dramatically. "Voi la!"

A sleek black mannequin wore a light blue and light gray formfitting costume. The suit was all one piece, but looked almost like skinny pants and a matching leather jacket sewn together. Everything seemed to flow together perfectly. The blue and grey formed patches on the suit curved into shapes on the body, making it look 3D and sleek. The seams flashed silver in the light, adding more detail and a shine to the suit. Cisco had added matching grey-wedged boots, similar to the ones Kiera had over the unfinished project five days ago. A matching grey mask with silver trim fit over the mannequin's eyes and nose and a simple ring of silver went around its head, very similar to the one she wore the other day. Cisco went over the details of the suit- how was made of a material that will protect her. How he and Caitlin had modified the circlet to amplify her mind power, so she would be able to do more than she could before; and other various features.

"It's beautiful, Cisco! Absolutely stunning! Thank you, Cisco!" Kiera said, amazed.

"Since you helped save Central City, I thought you deserved a suit to make you look awesome next to The Flash." Cisco said proudly.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Cisco!" Caitlin chuckled. "She proved she can help save the day, but she needs training first, so she doesn't fall unconscious again... or worse."

"And I was thinking about your Meta-human name. You need one." Cisco said and grinned. "What about Brain Storm? Cerebrum? Silver Mind? Oh, what about Telegirl?" Cisco clasped his hands together. "Maybe that one? I need to keep thinking."

Barry laughed and stood up from the chair. "We don't need to talk about all that right now. Kiera can try the suit on later. Let's go eat first!" Barry's Flash metabolism was telling him he was starving also.

"Yes! I'm starving! Next time I pass out, remind me to eat a car full of food first so I'm not starving!" Kiera teased and laughed. She threw the blanket off her lap and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

Caitlin stepped forward to help her. Kiera took a deep breath and focused on her legs instead of Caitlin's mind as she touched her, so that she wouldn't go inside Caitlin's mind like she had with Barry. Caitlin took one of her arms over her shoulders as she stood up. Kiera felt a little weak and light headed, but nothing too bad. She took a step forward and then another and another. She was walking.

"We can stop by your place so you can get a change of clothes and freshen up before we go to Big Belly Burger, if you'd like." Caitlin said.

"That would be nice. Thanks." Kiera nodded, "So I won't look like I came from the gym or something." She laughed as she looked down at the loose pants and t-shirt she had on. Everyone laughed with her and Caitlin helped Kiera walk out of the small room. The boys followed as they made it down the hall and to S.T.A.R. Lab's van.

Cisco drove and Kiera directed him to where her apartment was. Kiera told them she'd be back in shortly before she went into a poorly maintained apartment building. They hadn't known where she lived before and now they could tell she must have been barely making it by. This block of Central City was a dump.

Kiera climbed the steps of the building- feeling much better now- and made it to her small apartment on the third floor. She stepped inside and looked around at the small sparse living room before her. It was just how she left it, which made it harder for her to believe she was away for five days. She quickly took a shower and got dressed in her usual street clothes, before heading back downstairs. She avoided the landlord's place, as she knew he would be demanding her rent from the past week. She didn't have time for figure out how she was going to pay him. She'd most likely lost her job after not showing up five days in a row.

Kiera walked outside and back into the van. "Okay, let's go. I'm starving!" She said as she got in. She was trying to keep their minds on their destination, instead of the depressing place she lived in. Cisco started the van and started driving it towards the closest Big Belly Burger. Kiera awkwardly kept her eyes out the window and focused on the city as they made their way to the fast-food place, hoping no one would bring up where she lived. Everyone remained silent during the short trip, not wanting to awkwardly bring it up either.

After a few minutes they pulled up to a Big Belly Burger and went inside. The group of four ordered and sat down at a booth. Kiera looked around at the three of them while they all chatted and laughed. She had just met these people about a week ago, and yet they were probably the closest friends she had. They cared for her. She hadn't had friends like them in years and she didn't want to mess anything up. The closest friend she'd had before them was a woman who worked with her. And they rarely saw each other outside of work.

Kiera glanced over at Barry, who was laughing at a joke Cisco had said. Their eyes met briefly before Kiera looked away. Then there was Barry. She had no idea what they were to each other. Were they just friends? Or had that kiss and mind connection made them something more? He had worried about her and stayed with her while she was unconscious. But how could there be anything besides friendship between them? He was The Flash and she was just a newbie to all of this Meta-human stuff. He was much more important than she was. She tried to push all of this from her mind and focus on their conversation while she ate.

Barry beat the rest of the group at eating. He had downed five hamburgers, two piles of fries, and three cheeseburgers. Even though Kiera hadn't eaten in five days, she still didn't come close to his score. The Flash won.

They all laughed and joked about it as they finished their meals. Kiera had enjoyed this. It might have been a simple meal with friends for them, but to her it was a rare event.

After a while of talking and joking, they all piled back into the van. Kiera was exhausted, so they dropped her back off at her apartment and told her she was welcome to come to the Lab tomorrow. She thanked them for everything and headed up to her apartment. She told herself she'd take a nap to rest her mind before she tidied up her apartment. Kiera quickly took off her outerwear and fell onto her bed. By the time her head hit her pillow she had fallen asleep.

Her dreams were memories. Memories she'd seen in Tidal Wave's mind, memories she'd seen in Barry's mind, and her own memories of the battle that took place in S.T.A.R Lab's parking lot. Tidal Wave's dying scream jolted her awake. Kiera gasped for air as she sat up in her bed. Her room was dark. Everything was dark. She looked at her clock. 3:42. She'd been asleep for almost eleven hours. Much longer than she had wanted to. She looked out the window and saw the ghostly white moon in the early morning sky. She didn't want to go back to sleep and experience that nightmare again, so she got out of bed.

She tried to stay focused as she tidied up her apartment, but her mind wandered anyways. She thought about yesterday; about the meal she'd had with her new friends. About how they'd accepted her so quickly. Yes, she had helped The Flash save Central City, but still they'd only known her for two days- not including the five days she was unconscious.

Kiera sighed. She wasn't getting any work done and her apartment looked like even more of a mess than normal. She decided to take a walk inside. Maybe the chilly winter air would help clear her head. She put on her jacket, scarf and boots and walked out of the apartment building. She didn't think about the dangers that could be hiding in the darkness as she walked. Where she lived wasn't all that safe. Many low lives hung out in that area. Normally she'd avoid going out in the dark, but this time she wasn't really thinking about that. She just wanted to try to walk away from her thoughts, as if that were possible. The early winter mornings in Central City were cold- cold enough to see one's breath and feel like your nose is going to get frostbite- and this morning was no exception. Kiera pulled her jacket tighter around her body and put her hands under her armpits to keep them warm. She kept her eyes on the sidewalk in front of her feet as she walked. Her mind also seemed to be numb from the cold gusts of wind and she was glad. She didn't want to think about how her life became complicated in just one week.

Next thing she knew she was being pushed down a dark alley. She gasped at the sudden attack and looked up to see who it was. Standing only inches from her was man in a black hoodie and baggy pants. Kiera couldn't see the man's face, because the alley was too dark and the man's face was in the shadows under the hoodie pulled over his face. Before she could scream in fear, the man put his dirty hand over her mouth and forced her up against the alley wall. She tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he had her pinned hard.

"Give me your wallet and anything else of value!" Came a deep voice from inside the hoodie. "And if you try to scream again," The man pulled out a gnarly looking knife and put it to Kiera's throat, "you'll regret it."

Kiera's heart pounded in her chest, she was terrified. She was being robbed. She remembered she had just thrown this jacket on. She had nothing to identify who she was- no phone or wallet. She didn't even have any coins in her pockets. She knew the man wouldn't believe her. Who would take a walk without a cell phone or wallet? She had to get away. She thought fast. She remembered watching action movies as a kid. Look for the man's weakness. Her heart pounded loudly in her head, so loud she could hardly think. She tried to focus. She tried to get her leg loose from under the man, so she could knee him in the groin. It was no use.

"This is your last warning, girl! Give me everything you have!" The man growled. She could smell his nasty breath even under his dirty hand. She then remembered she had new abilities now. She focused on his mind and overloaded it, like she'd done a couple times before. The man groaned in agony as he stepped back. He grabbed his head as she stepped back, giving Kiera the room to get away. The 'Brain Blast' was successful, but Kiera knew this time to only stun him. Now that her legs were free, she tried to knee him to prevent him from running after her. Before she could get her knee up far enough, the man grabbed her lower thigh tightly with one hand.

"Where do you think you're going, missy?" The man said in a deep voice. Kiera screamed as the man gripped her leg tighter.

"Let me go!" Kiera screamed and tried to pull her leg from his grasp. The man pulled her towards him and faster than she expected he put the knife to her left side. His other hand slammed her to the wall once more. She tried to squirm again and the man pushed the knife harder into her coat. A sharp pain in her side made her stop struggling. Fear gripped her. She felt her heart pound loudly in her head.

"Thought you were a fighter, didn't you? This is the real world, honey, not some movie!" He said, his nasty breath now flooding her nose. She still could not see his face, even though only four inches separated them, but she could smell him. She guessed he probably hadn't had a shower in months.

Before Kiera could 'Brain Blast' him again, there was a streak of yellow and the man was sent backwards against the other wall of the alley. He lost his grip on Kiera in the sudden action and grunted as he hit the wall before falling to the alley's dirty floor. Before Kiera could react the streak of yellow spin back around and she was taken from the alley. The next thing she knew she was standing in another alley. More moonlight peeked in between the two buildings, making it easier to see. She looked around and guessed she must be several blocks away from the robber in the alley, because this place wasn't as vandalized. She turned her head to look at her rescuer. Standing in front of her was Barry Allen. He looked tired. He was not wearing his Flash costume, but instead he had on sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Barry?" Kiera whispered, stunned. "How did you know where-" She stopped midsentence, too shocked to even finish.

Barry shrugged looking a little confused himself. "I honestly don't know. I just-" he paused, trying to think of the right word. " _knew._ " It was the best word he could think of.

He had woken to a strange feeling in his gut. It was like he knew someone was in trouble. He somehow knew _Kiera_ was in trouble. He had gotten out of bed and changed at superspeed into what clothes he found first, before rushing outside. Once he was on the streets of Central City, he somehow knew exactly where to go. The next thing he knew he was in an alley, punching a guy away from Kiera and taking her to safety. He didn't stop running, not wanting to take the change of the robber seeing his face.

"Okay, well um, thanks?" Kiera said, her head spinning as she tried to figure out what happened.

Barry thought quickly about his strange interacts with Kiera before and then it hit him. Why hadn't he thought of that before?

"You must somehow connect deeply with the person who's mind you enter. When you touch them and enter their mind, somehow a bond forms between that person and you. It explains why you were overwhelmed with emotions after Tidal Wave's death. You had felt his death deeply, as if it were you knew what he was experiencing. It was because you were linked to his mind."

Kiera listened to him, intrigued but also becoming even more confused. "You're saying that every time I get sucked into someone's mind I then sort of become one with them?" She asked him as she touched her forehead, trying to figure it out.

"In a way, yes." Barry nodded. "It seems that's how I knew that you were in trouble and where to find you. Your fear must have gone so deep that it actually made me feel it."

"Wow. Well if that's true, I guess it comes in handy!" She laughed and he joined her. The idea was almost mind-boggling.

Kiera's laugh caught in her throat as she felt a sharp pain in her side- right where the robber had put his knife. She gasped at the sudden pain.

"What's wrong?" Barry asked, worry on his face. Her face had suddenly got pale and her eyes bigger.

"My side!" She tried to remain calm, but failed, as the pain became worse and worse.

"Hold on!" Barry said as he picked her up carefully and ran as fast as he could towards S.T.A.R. Labs. He wasn't thinking about the hospital. He just thought about the Lab, because that's where he'd get patched up whenever he was injured as The Flash. His friends would help her.

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE: I apologize for the long wait. I realized yesterday I wrote way too much for one Chapter, so I'm splitting it into 2 chapters.  
Also, I still need help figuring out what Kiera's Meta-human name should be. A new friend suggested I make a poll where you can go and vote ****for your favorite name. So that's what I have done. Please go to my profile and vote for your favorite name. If you have a name you think would fit Kiera, then please PM me or review. Thank you. (:  
**


	6. Chapter 6

Barry rushed down the streets of Central City, carrying Kiera in his arms. She was growing weak from the blood lose. Her shirt and jacket now soaked in her own blood. Barry focused on running as fast as he could toward S.T.A.R. Labs. The streets were pretty much empty, because it was only about half past four in the morning. Barry felt an ache in his left side. His connection with Kiera made him feel some of the pain she was going through. He knew this, because when she got weak and fell unconscious several days ago, he felt slightly weaker and tired. He wasn't going to let Kiera endure any more pain. He wasn't going to let her die.

Barry turned into S.T.A.R. Lab's parking lot and raced into the building. He slid a couple feet before finally stopping in same room Kiera had been in for five days. He carefully set her down on the hospital bed. Luckily Cisco and Caitlin were early risers and were already working in labs- or maybe they never left last night. They saw the flash of yellow and the wind that followed blew their hair back and caused a wave of papers to scatter on the ground. Cisco and Caitlin looked at each other, wondering what could have brought Barry in the lab so early. They pushed their chairs back and rushed into the side room.

Kiera was lying on the hospital bed, her face pale and tight with pain. Barry was biting his lip as he stood over her.

"What happened?" Cried Caitlin as she rushed to the bed to help Kiera.

"A robber. Demanded everything I had. I tried to fight him off. Barry. He helped me get away. The robber. He must have stabbed me with his knife. Deeper than I thought. My side." Kiera said. All she could manage were short sentences in between her labored breathing. She looked down at her left side. Her cream jacket had a two feet wide patch of blood.

Caitlin immediately went into doctor mode. She carefully helped Kiera out of her coat, making sure to avoid touching her side. "This is going to hurt." She said as she slowly rolled up Kiera's bloody shirt. Now visible was an inch and a half wide gash on Kiera's left side. Caitlin examined it quickly, checking how serious it was.

"The knife seemed to have just missed going in between the eighth and ninth ribs. You're lucky, Kiera. If it was any deeper it could have punctured an organ." Kiera gritted her teeth. She didn't feel lucky. Pain was taking over her body.

Caitlin looked up, "Cisco can you-"

"Blood and stuff. Not really my area. I think I'm going to go to the bathroom and throw up a little." Cisco said as he rushed out of the room.

"What do you need?" Barry asked, standing beside her. He wanted to help any way he could.

"It's going to need a few stitches." Caitlin said as she told him a list of things she needed. She turned back to Kiera and said softly. "I'm going to numb the skin around it, but you still might feel some pain." Kiera nodded, trying to act brave. The pain was surging though her body. Barry rushed around at superspeed, collecting all of the things Caitlin had told him to get. He brought them back quickly and Caitlin got to work cleaning, stitching and dressing the wound.

Every time Kiera groaned or screamed in pain, Barry winced. He could feel some of the pain she was going through, due to the bond between them. But he winced more because of her reactions than the pain he felt. Kiera tried to keep a brave face and act like it wasn't as bad as actually was, but sometimes she couldn't keep a scream in.

Caitlin was well trained and remained calm as she stitched up the wound. Soon the task was done and she wrapped Kiera's slender mid section with sanitary white cloth.

"It will heal, but it will take time." Caitlin said and she and Barry glanced at each other. They knew it would take longer than they were used to. Normally when Caitlin patched up wounds it was on Barry and he healed really fast. Kiera didn't have that ability. Caitlin cleaned the tools and supplies and picked everything up. "You should rest now. Try not to move too much." She said. Kiera nodded and Caitlin turned before leaving the room with the supplies. She was alone with Barry again.

She extended her arm slowly, wincing as she reached for the water bottle that sat on a table next to her bed. Barry stepped in and grabbed the bottle for her, but it slipped from his fingers as he glanced over at her. With his superspeed his hand grabbed the water bottle before it could reach the floor.

Kiera watched and couldn't help but laugh, which caused her newly stitched would to pull apart a little. She gritted her teeth as the pain surged through her abdomen. Barry smiled as she laughed, but then it faded as he saw her in pain again. He handed her the bottle.

"You know you could have used your telekinesis to get the water bottle." He said as smiled again, trying to keep Kiera's mood light and distract her from the pain.

She chuckled softly, trying to avoid moving her midsection. "Yeah I guess I could have." Kiera took a gulp of water and rested the bottle on her lap. "And I could have used more of my abilities to defend myself earlier." Kiera looked down at the bottle as her fingers made circles over its plastic cap. "Instead I got myself bedridden again. I wasn't even out of this bed for twenty-four hours!" She sighed.

Barry sat down on the edge of her bed. "Hey. You were terrified. You froze. It happens to all of us." His eyes showed her hope. "And you'll be able to get out of this bed in no time! Besides, you can train from here." He said, trying to cheer her up. He tapped the side of his head to indicate her mind was the source of her abilities.

Kiera nodded and smiled. "Yeah I guess you're right." She put her hand up; palm facing forward and focused on a packet of M&M's that Cisco had absentmindedly left sitting on a table across the room. Barry turned his head and grinned as he watched the object start to float and then come towards them. Kiera focused hard and lowered her hand slowly before the bag of candy landed in her hand. They both smiled at her success.

"See? What did I tell you?" Barry said, chuckling.

"Cisco won't miss these, will he?" Kiera said as she opened the bag. She held it out, offering some to him.

Barry held out his hand and she poured some onto it. "He'll get over it." He said, laughing as he imagined the sight of Cisco's face when he finds out.

"He's probably more bummed I won't be able to try on his amazing suit anytime soon." She said and they both laughed- Barry more than Kiera, as she didn't want to pull her wound open again.

They both snacked on the round chocolate candies in silence for a moment. Kiera focused on the M&M's in her hand, so she wouldn't accidently read his mind. She didn't want to invade his privacy… again. She already felt bad enough seeing his memories from the past five days.

A soft knock pulled Kiera from her thoughts and she looked up to see two darker skinned people standing in the doorway- a well-dressed middle-aged man and a beautiful young woman who looked like she could Kiera's age. The woman was holding a bouquet of bright yellow and pink Gerbera Daisies.

Barry stood and grinned. "Hey!" He said, "Come on in!" He motioned. They walked in and stood at the foot of the bed. "Kiera, meet Detective Joe West." Barry motioned to the man. The man smiled and leaned forward, holding out his hand. Kiera shook his hand as she smiled back.

"Nice to meet you." Joe said, welcomingly. Kiera repeated the sentence to him.

"And Iris West, his daughter." Barry said as the woman walked to her side and put the vase of flowers on the table beside the bed.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you." Iris said, smiling. Kiera smiled back, curious as to who they were to Barry.

"They are my adopted family, of sorts." Barry explained.

"Well it's nice to meet you both." Kiera said with a smile, "And thank you for the beautiful flowers!" She added as she looked over at the cheerful bouquet.

"You're very welcome, Kiera." Iris said.

"We saw you on the news, beside The Flash fighting to save Central City." Joe West said, giving Barry a fatherly pat on the shoulder, showing Kiera that they knew that Barry was Central City's scarlet hero.

"Yes you did amazing!" Iris said. "It was very brave of you to walk into that hurricane like that."

"Well it was what I had to do. To help The Flash." She smiled.

"Iris is a investigative journalist at The Central City Picture News. She actually wrote an article about you and The Flash saving the day." Joe said, his beaming smile made it clear that he is proud of his daughter's talents.

"Well thank you, Iris." Kiera smiled. "I look forward to reading it soon." Iris smiled back.

"Sorry to cut this short but Barry we need you at the station. The Captain's waiting for the results on that case."

"Oh, right!" Barry said and turned to Kiera. "I'll check in on you later, Kiera."

"And I've got to go to work." Iris said as she looked at her phone's clock. "It was wonderful to meet you, Kiera. You should come over to our house for a home cooked meal when you are able to." She smiled.

"I'd like that a lot. Thank you. It was nice to meet you both too." Kiera said and the three of them walked out of the room.

Kiera laid in the hospital bed all day. Cisco and Caitlin came in often to see how she was doing and to keep her company. Cisco had gotten her coffee and a muffin from Jitters for breakfast and then lunch from Big Belly Burger. He'd also found some books for her to read, though Kiera found they were too scientific for her. Instead she practiced her telekinesis on objects around the room. It helped to distract her from her thoughts.

Cisco knew she must be bored and aching to get out of bed. Though Dr. Caitlin insisted she rest, he knew he could help with her boredom. A very happy Cisco came into the room, holding a stack of DVDs.

"Movie time!" He exclaimed as he pushed a table with large monitor to the foot of her bed and popped in the DVD. "I thought we could watch The Matrix movies! They've got some epic powers too!"

Kiera laughed. She was familiar with those movies. She'd seen them with her father several years ago. She nodded. "Sure why not!"

Cisco grin widened and he ran off to go make popcorn and get some candy for them to enjoy while they watched. He sat in a chair to the right of Kiera's bed and placed the snacks on the bed beside her, so they could both reach them. She hadn't watched a movie with a friend in a long time. She couldn't wipe the smile as the movie started. She was happy. She had friends again.

As the first movie was ending, the smell of Chinese food filled the air. Barry had arrived with dinner. Her friends sat around the hospital bed and ate with her. Barry talked about some interesting finds he found that were about his current case at the Police Station and Caitlin talked about some of Kiera's test results. She had found out that while Kiera was inside Tidal Wave's mind finding memories, her heart rate, oxygen intake and body temperature dropped slightly. Caitlin concluded that her mind was so focused on his mind; her brain reduced the other activity in her body.

After dinner, Kiera finally convinced Dr. Snow that she was strong enough to take a short walk outside. Caitlin couldn't argue with Kiera getting some fresh air. She helped Kiera as she slowly got out of bed. Kiera was careful not to move her abdomen too much. She felt a little dizzy and weak, from the blood lose, but didn't complain. Barry stepped forward and took her hand so she could lean on him, helping Kiera down out of the room and down the hallway.

"I want to thank you for saving me this morning." Kiera said, focusing on walking down the hallway. "I still don't understand exactly how you knew, but it doesn't matter I guess."

"Yeah, well I uh, that's what The Flash does." Barry said awkwardly and then winced when he realized what he said. He didn't mean to say it wasn't a big deal and just part of his job as The Flash and wasn't also Barry Allen who saved her. The same Barry Allen that expressed feelings by kissing her a week ago. "Uh, I mean, you're welcome. I'm glad I could." Barry said, smiling at her. Barry knew that sounded so cheesy. _Why couldn't he come up with something better to say?_

Kiera smiled back as she glanced up at him, before concentrating on her walking again. They walked in silence until they reached an exit out of the Lab. Barry opened the door and helped Kiera walk out into a glass hallway, before they walked outside into the night air. They walked out on a concrete pathway and stopped before the river- the same river that was part of the fight a week ago. The water was moving slowly, so the night sky was visible in the reflection of the water. Across the water, buildings rose to meet the sky. Distant sirens blared and the sound of traffic could be heard. Kiera smiled at the sight. She loved this city, even though she'd only been here a few years.

"I'll never tire of this sight." She whispered as if not wanting to interrupt the scene across the water.

Barry looked from her to the city skyline and nodded. "Same here." He whispered back.

Kiera looked down at the river and took a deep breath. The river reminded her of the day the hurricane formed in the parking lot to their right. She remembered how it ended. How Tidal Wave died and was washed out into the river.

"Did they ever find his body?" She asked.

Barry saw she was looking at the water and immediately knew what she was asking. "Yes, three days ago. He had washed ashore near the mouth of the river. After we examined him, he was released to his family. I was there." He said softly. He made it clear to the Captain that he wanted to be there. He did it for Kiera, but also for himself. He had killed the man- accidently- but he could not tell the family that. He paid his respects to Tidal Wave's family, hoping it would bring closure and his death would not haunt him anymore. "I can take you to them when you're better. I promised you I would." He looked over at her. He remembered what he promised her a week ago. He knew how hard she'd taken his death and he hoped it would bring her closure also.

She nodded slowly, keeping her eyes on the water so he couldn't see her eyes were starting to water. "Thank you. I think it will help them and me. He loved them so much. I felt it; it was so strong. Stronger than any emotion I've ever felt."

They stood there in silence for several minutes, both of them trying to push the thought of that horrible fight from their minds, as they stared out at Central City. Barry knew she just needed someone to be there with her in silence, to help her know she wasn't alone in this.

Kiera turned him after ten minutes of silence. Barry looked over at her. Her eyes said "Thank you" even though her mouth didn't move. He didn't need to have a mental connection to know what she was saying to him. She wanted to thank him. She stepped forward, making the space between them shrink to only a few inches. Her eyes were soft. They seemed to sparkle in the lab's outdoor dim lighting. He didn't know if her blue eyes sparkled like that from the lights or if it was from the stars above them, or maybe something else all together.

They both shared one emotion in that moment and for one minute everything seemed to be okay. Their warm slightly visible breath mixed together as they stared into each other's eyes. Kiera's eyes showed her gratitude towards him for saving her life. Barry's showed compassion and understanding.

Together they slowly leaned toward one another. Kiera's hand rested on his chest and Barry slowly reached out his hand and placed it at her side. Kiera winced as his finger touched her bandaged wound.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't-" Barry quickly pulled his hand away. He had forgotten in that moment that she was still wounded.

"It's okay." Kiera laughed a little at their attempt to get closer. Barry smiled and carefully placed his hand higher up on her side. They leaned in again and closed their eyes, trying again. Their lips met. This kiss was full of emotion. For a minute everything else seemed to fade away. The only thing that mattered was each other. Their connection got stronger and deeper.

A buzzing sound startled them and brought them back to Earth. Barry and Kiera remembered they were still outside of S.T.A.R. Labs. They pulled back awkwardly and Barry realized the buzzing was an incoming call on his phone. He pulled it out of his back pocket quickly and saw it was Cisco. Barry cleared his throat awkwardly and answered the phone.

"What's up?"

Kiera awkwardly shifted her weight. The kiss was unlike anything she'd experienced before. They could feel each other's emotions. They could almost anticipate each other's movements and thoughts.

Cisco's voice came through the phone, "Dude, there's a Meta-human alert at the police station. "

Barry snapped out of the haze that was caused by the kiss. "On it!" He said. He picked up Kiera carefully before running back into S.T.A.R. Labs at superspeed. He set her on her feet in front of Cisco and Caitlin- who were sitting at their computers- before he changed into The Flash.

The Flash ran off towards the station, causing papers in the lab to fly everywhere. Kiera looked around and opened her mouth slightly, stunned. She still couldn't get over how he could run that fast.

Barry ran toward the scene to rescue the police from a Meta-human villain.

* * *

 **WRITER'S** **NOTE: I just want to make this clear. I tried to describe the scene with Iris and Joe as best I could. I am NOT racist. I hope I have not offended anyone with the way I described them. I am so sorry if I have. It was NOT my intention!**

 **And I've been thinking a lot about where this story would fit in and I think it would best fit in a world after Zoom. When the portals closed and if life continued on normally again. Just a thought.**

 **And thank you to all of you who voted in my poll. It seems "Telegirl" ("Tele" coming from "Telepathic" and Telekinesis") is the winner! Five of you voted for that Meta-human name! The next chapter will officially introduce Telegirl. (: So thanks again for voting! The poll will close shortly.**

 **One last thing. I was watching tv the other day and saw an actress that looked a lot like how I imagined Kiera. Her name is Mackenzie Mauzy. This picture of her is the closest I could find of how I imagine Kiera. For anyone that's a visual person:  
** /images/M/MV5BMTU0NDU1NDc4NV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMDM0OTM4NTE ._V1_UX214_CR0,0,214,317_AL_.jpg **  
**


	7. Chapter 7

The Flash raced to the Central City Police Station. Cisco had gotten an alert from Detective Joe West that a Meta-human had gotten inside and was causing a large disruption. Barry focused on finding the shortest route to the station, so his mind wouldn't wander. He needed to focus and not think about what happened a minute before when Kiera and him kissed.

* * *

Kiera took a chair from a table on the other side of the room and walked around the desk in The Flash's headquarters. She placed the chair behind Caitlin and Cisco, so she could see what was going on. There were no civilians at the station, so they didn't have any videos to run facial recognition on. Kiera leaned forward in her chair and felt pain in her side. She'd forgotten she'd been stabbed less than a day ago. Maybe it was adrenaline coming from The Flash taking on a new Meta-human, or maybe it was the kiss they'd shared only moments ago. She straightened up quickly and winced. This was killing her. She wasn't able to help Barry. She was injured because of a stupid decision she'd made early this morning. She wanted to help The Flash again. She was useless stuck here in the lab. Kiera stood up and paced behind the two scientists who were trying to find information to help Barry.

* * *

The Flash ran into the Police Station and stopped in the main hallway, taking in the scene. Police were lying all over the floor, moving their mouths as if to speak, banging their ears and blinking their eyes. Barry watched, confused. There wasn't a villain in sight. He ran upstairs and looked around. There were more policemen scattered around doing similar things as the ones before. What were they doing?

"Come to rescue them?" A smug voice asked from above The Flash. He looked up to see a man leaning against the golden railing of the open story above him. The young black-haired man- maybe a handful of years older than Barry- looked relaxed, as if The Flash posed no threat. From what Barry could see, the man was in a black leather jacket and black shirt on beneath. He smirked down at The Flash and Barry narrowed his eyes. He hated villains that were over confident. They were just plain irritating. Once they locked eyes, the man added, "They don't know you're here." His smirk widened as he looked down at the police who seemed to be trying to crawl along the floor. The Flash watched them, confused. It was as if they could not see anything. Barry realized they hadn't reacted when he'd arrived or when the man above spoke. Could they not hear also? What had this new Meta-human done to them?

"Cisco? Caitlin? Do you see this?" Barry whispered into his suit.

Cisco had The Flash's suit camera feed live on his screen. They were watching speechless. Before they could answer Barry, the elevator opened and a young Police officer ran out with his gun in hand. His hand shook, he looked like it might be his first day on the job. At first he pointed it at The Flash while he took in everything in the room. He realized The Flash was on his side and he looked up at the Meta-human still leaning against the ledge, looking like he didn't care about what was going on. The officer pointed his gun up at the man, but before he could fire a shot, the Meta-human snapped his fingers and pointed down at the officer.

"Sight." He said.

The officer blinked and shot his weapon. The bullet missed, barely even hitting the bottom of the second floor. He moved his gun around as if trying to find someone to shot at. "Put the lights back on! I can't see? Where is he?" The young officer said as he spun around haphazardly The Flash watched confused and sped to him, taking him out of the room, to prevent anymore harm. He watched the man stumble over things in his path as he tried to walk around the room. The officer was blind. He then ran back into the room and one by one took all of the other officers out of the room, to make sure they'd be safe. He looked around at the room, watching the officers try to crawl around, speak and feel things around them.

"Their senses!" Cisco said as he pointed to the monitor that displayed the officer walking, his voice a little too excited that he'd figured it out. "This new Meta-human takes away people's senses!"

"You mean sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch?" Kiera looked at Cisco confused, but curious.

"Yes. That's why he said the other police officers didn't know you were there. He had taken their senses from them. They can't see, hear, touch, smell or even taste."

"Well, that can't be good." Mumbled Barry. "How can I stop him?"

"Hold on. We'll figure something out." Caitlin said as she started inputting data into her computer. "We need to see his face in your suit cam, to do facial recognition, Barry."

"Alright." Barry took a deep breath and ran back into the room where the villainous Meta-human was. He stopped and looked up at the second floor. The Meta-human wasn't there. The Flash looked around quickly, trying to find him.

"Sight." Came a voice and then a snap, and then all Barry saw was darkness.

The Flash was blind.

The Flash spun around, trying to find the Meta-human, but it was no use. He couldn't see anything.

"Hm, thank you." He heard the man say, "Everything is clearer now. I can practically see every pore now. I can see farther now." The man said and The Flash could hear he was smirking from his tone. Barry clenched his fists, angry.

"Barry? Barry? What happened?" Caitlin asked into the microphone that connected them to The Flash. The camera was still functional and they saw he was turning around and around.

"When he takes people's senses, his senses heighten!" Cisco said, realizing what the man meant. "Nightsense! That is his Meta-human name!" He fist pumped in the air, "His name is Nightsense!" Cisco smiled, proud of his success of naming the villainous Meta-human.

For a brief second as The Flash spun they saw the villain step closer to The Flash and snap his fingers again. Kiera gasped at the sight. Her head spun. He was taking Barry's senses! And she was stuck here in the lab! She looked down at her shirt covered abdomen and gently placed her hand over her wound. Why did she have to get injured? Barry needed help!

After the snap The Flash heard, "Touch." He suddenly couldn't feel anything. It was as if his whole body went numb. He couldn't feel the ground below his feet. He couldn't feel the suit on his skin.

Kiera looked up and saw her new blue, grey and silver suit on a mannequin in the corner of the room. She knew what she had to do; she had to go help The Flash before this man took all of Barry's senses. It didn't matter that she was wounded. She jumped from her chair and ran to the suit. She took the complete costume off the mannequin.

"I'm going to need this!" She shouted as she ran out of the room, carrying the suit in her arms.

"No! Keira, you can't! You're hurt!" Caitlin shouted after her, but it was too late.

Kiera ducked into an empty room and quickly changed out of the S.T.A.R. Lab's sweats she was in and put on the suit. She was careful around her wound. The suit fit like a glove. Cisco had gotten the measurements correct. She glanced at herself the reflection of a darkened window as she put on her mask and silver headpiece. She looked like someone ready to fight. She looked like she could help The Flash and maybe even save the world. She couldn't help, but smile before she ran back out of the room. Her side ached, but she pushed it out of her mind. She couldn't think of that right now.

Kiera ran out of S.T.A.R. Labs and looked around. How was she going to get to the Police Station? She couldn't call a taxi looking like a Comic Con dresser. She spotted the S.T.A.R. Labs' van in the parking lot and ran towards it. She technically didn't have a driver's license, but that wasn't going to stop her from driving the van to the police station.

She pulled on the driver's side door's handle. She sighed in relief. She was in luck. Caitlin and Cisco had forgotten to lock it. She jumped in and looked at the empty ignition. She wasn't _that_ lucky. She remembered something- a time in high school when a few 'friends' showed her how to hotwire a car before they stole it. She never stole again, and she never thought the hotwire trick would come in handy again.

She quickly recalled what to do and hotwired the van. She put the earpiece that came with the suit into her ear. She didn't want to put it in until she knew she could go; incase Caitlin and Cisco tried to convince her to come back to the lab. She couldn't do that. She had to help him.

Kiera drove out of the parking lot and towards the police station. She stepped on the gas and swerved in and out of traffic, frantically trying to get to The Flash before it was too late.

"How's he doing?" She shouted into her suit as she turned a corner. Part of her wanted to know, but the other part of her was afraid of what they would say. She took a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel tightly as she drove.

"He lost everything, but hearing." Caitlin told her. "Hurry, Kiera. He's not doing well." Cisco and Caitlin knew The Flash needed help and there was no stopping Kiera. She proved herself in the hurricane, but they still worried that she might go too far and end up unconscious again. Or worse.  
"It seems like Nightsense is taunting him. All Barry can do is listen to him." Cisco added, watching the scene via the suit camera.

The news made Kiera push down harder on the van's gas petal. She had to get there; and she had to get there _now_! She swerved the van left and right to avoid cars. Without knowing it, Kiera was holding her breath as she drove. She had to make it.

She pulled up to the Police Station and parked the van quickly, before racing up the steps. Once she got inside, she looked around. Everything was eerily silent. There wasn't any police running around, there wasn't even any crawling around like The Flash saw when he first arrived. She had to find Barry and fast!

"Where is he?" She whispered into her suit's microphone.

"Upstairs. Take the elevator." Cisco said quickly as he looked at an outline of the building's floors with a red flashing light that told him where The Flash was.

Keira ran into the elevator and pressed the number two on the wall.

"Be ready. The elevator will open and they will be right outside." Cisco said.

"Be careful, Kiera!" Caitlin added, nervously. She didn't like the idea of the newbie on the team going in to save The Flash. She didn't doubt Kiera's abilities, but Kiera was not ready for 'field missions'.

"Thanks." Kiera whispered and took a deep breath. She looked down and saw her hands were shaking. She tried to not think of how scared she was. What if she was too late? What if she couldn't help save The Flash? She tried to push those thoughts from her mind as the elevator doors began to open.

She stood tall, placing her feet farther apart and making her hands into fists beside her, getting ready for whatever was coming.

In a blink of an eye, she saw the scene before her. Scattered all over the floor were policemen who had lost their senses; they looked so helpless. Around the helpless bodies were scattered guns that the policemen were unable to fire. In the center of the room was the Meta-human- who Cisco named Nightsense- standing over a familiar body. Kiera inhaled sharply. It was The Flash. He wasn't moving; it looked as if he was dead.

 _Barry? Can you hear me?_ She asked, using their mental connection to try to communicate with The Flash.

 _Kiera? You can't be here! He's too dangerous! Get out of here while you can!_

 _I'm not leaving you._ She glanced over at him, feeling her heart enter her throat. She was scared, but she wasn't going to let that stop her.

 _No! Kiera!_ Barry kept trying.

Kiera stepped out of the elevator, anger written all over her face. She was going to get her revenge on this evildoer who was harming Barry. Nightsense turned his head and his smirk widened when he saw Kiera coming towards him.

"Who are you?" Nightsense asked with a smirk. "Here to rescue your helpless friend?"

"My names-" She paused. She couldn't tell him her real name. Her identity would be blown and her mask would be useless. Suddenly she remembered something.

"Telegirl!" Kiera said as she pushed her shoulders back, trying to take the heroic stance. She remembered one of the names Cisco had thrown out there. This name seemed to fit the best. It was catchy.

"Nice! Always liked that one!" Cisco said in her ear as he fist pumped in front of his computer, proud.

"Telegirl?" The man laughed asked as he turned his body to face her. "Oh look, Flash, your brave little sidekick is finally here. Aren't the hero and his sidekick supposed to arrive together?" He glanced back at The Flash as he said it. The Flash was still lying on the floor. Nighsense looked back at Telegirl and tilted his head. "Did you stop of lunch or something?" The man laughed at his own joke, which made Kiera's fists get tighter. He was taunting The Flash by taking every sense except hearing, so he'd feel powerless to help Kiera.

"I knew you were coming, sidekick. I heard you downstairs." The man smirked, obviously proud of his new hearing abilities. He stepped forward, taking her image in for the first time. "Well well, The Flash knows how to pick 'em, doesn't he? But your just another pretty face. Imagine what it would be like if you didn't get to see yourself in the mirror again?" Nightsense taunted. He snapped his fingers. Kiera knew what was coming. He was going to steal her sight.

"Sight." He said with an evil smile. Telegirl narrowed her eyes at him. She had a thought. Could she mentally block his attacks? She closed her eyes tight and mentally thought of protecting her mind and preserving her sight.

She opened them a few seconds later and she could still see. She smiled a little, relieved that it had worked. She looked over at Nightsense, who was watching confused.

"How?" He said under his breath, realizing he had not taken her sight. Kiera didn't respond, instead she focused on putting a mental 'wall' up in her mind, not letting anything attacks past it.

He snapped his fingers again. "Sight!" He said louder and stepped forward.

Telegirl smiled again. His tricks weren't working on her.

 _Barry. It's working! I'm blocking his attacks!_

 _How? Never mind, that doesn't matter right now. Do you think you can fight him and keep blocking him with your mind? Or maybe you can try the "Brain Blast" on him?_ Barry asked mentally, his body still not moving.

 _I don't know. It's hard to focus on blocking and talking to you at the same time._ She had to concentrate hard to keep her mental 'wall' up. It seemed to be even harder than holding up an actual wall- like she did when she first met The Flash. _Let alone try to fight him also._ She added.

Nightsense continued to try to take her senses. He kept snapping his fingers and saying a sense out loud. Kiera could tell he was very frustrated and the frustration was starting to grow into anger.

 _We have to do something fast. He looks very angry._ Kiera said as she watched him step closer and closer. She stepped backward until suddenly her back hit something hard and uneven. She turned slightly to see what it was. It was a huge golden mural on the wall that depicted seven hero-like figures and a giant eagle behind them. Her lower leg hit a bench that sat below the golden image.

She heard footsteps and looked back at the Meta-human who was walking towards her, looking very angry. She inhaled sharply as she saw how close he was. He was standing only six feet from her now.

With one blink something started to change. Kiera felt as if she stuffed in a smaller place, which didn't make sense, as she's in station's huge room. She glanced around, looking for what had changed. She couldn't put her finger on it.

 _I can see. And I can hear again!_ Barry's voice said in her mind. _But how?_

Kiera looked over at The Flash, who was still lying on the floor as if he was unconscious. He wasn't moving like he could see or hear again.

 _That's me! Wait how am I seeing myself from across the room?_ Barry asked.

 _You saw your own body? I just looked over at you…_ Kiera's mental voice sounded confused.

 _I'm seeing everything through your eyes somehow._ Barry said mentally as he realized how he could see. _It must have to do with the bond? Somehow it compensates for when I lost my senses by tapping into yours._

 _Well that's great and all, but uh how is that going to help stop the evil man who is about to be right on top of me?_ Kiera asked, mentally as she watched Nightsense, who was now only a couple feet from her. She looked around and tried to scoot along the wall to her right, away from him.

 _Because I can still move my body, I just don't have any senses other than hearing._ Barry said, getting an idea- though it might be the stupidest idea he'd ever had.

Telegirl stared at the Meta-human in front of her. She tried not to show how scared she was. She tried to act brave. Nightsense's grin widened, he could hear her fast beating heart.

"Since my usual tricks don't seem to work on you, let's dance, Little Sidekick." He smirked and lunged forward, skillfully. He swung his arms across, trying to hit her with a powerful blow. She ducked without thinking and stepped to her left. Her mouth opened slightly. How had she done that? She'd never been in a fistfight before. Then she realized- she had tapped into one of Barry's memories and had done what he had done.

Now that she was away from the wall, she backed up, away from Nightsense. The man angrily whipped around. She was turning out to be more of a problem than he thought. Kiera turned her head to look at Barry's body. If he was going to have to help her, now would be the time. Kiera backed up until she was in the doorway of the room, which held the detective's desks.

Nightsense regained his composure and ran towards her, fists ready to do damage. Telegirl held her breath and tried to move away from his blow. She was not fast enough. His fists hit her ribs hard, continuing to jab and punch. Kiera screamed in agony as his fists found her stitched knife wound. The pressure caused by his fists made the wound open up and start to bleed again. She gritted her teeth as intense pain started to flow through her body. Nightsense smirked as his luck. He'd happened to find a pre-existing wound. Barry had to help. He tried to move his own body, but of course could not feel what it was doing. He tried again and again.

"Kiera! What's going on?" Caitlin asked into the microphone. Her and Cisco were monitoring their vitals on their monitors. They noticed the spike in Kiera's heart rate. A spike that they knew from previous times watching Barry's that it was from pain.

"Broke open the stitches." She mumbled as she looked down at her suit. A red patch was forming on her grey and blue suit. She knew that couldn't be good. Barry felt the pain through their mind connection and his body jolted upwards. He had to help.

Kiera quickly looked back up at Nightsense and moved to her right quickly as he tried to land another blow. He grabbed her neck and pushed her up against the glass wall that separated the two rooms. The pain Kiera was feeling overwhelmed her, so merging with Nightsense did not happen.

The shadows on his face made his smirk look even more evil than before. Kiera choked as he held her neck tight. She felt air leave her body and she couldn't take another breath. He punched her abdomen hard, causing her to fly backwards as the glass broke behind her. She fell into the other room and groaned in pain. Pain surged through her body. She tried to get up, but her body protested.

 _Kiera. Get to the doorway so I can see. Then I can navigate myself. I know you can do this._ Barry's voice said.

Kiera turned on her side slowly and tried to pull herself across the floor. The suit Cisco made helped protect her body from being stabbed by the glass shards that littered the ground, but still Kiera moved very slowly. She bit her lip and tried again.

 _I'll tell you one thing. You're better at positive reinforcement than the normal voice in my head._ She laughed a little and that distraction helped her move faster. Once her head reached the doorway, she stopped. She saw Nightsense standing an equal distance between her and The Flash. He was still facing Telegirl and his normal smirk plastered on his face.

"Give up yet, Little Sidekick?" He asked. Kiera gritted her teeth and tried not to focus on The Flash moving behind Nightsense, so she didn't give him away.

"Just getting started." She spat out as she tried to get in a more comfortable position. She kept her eyes up, so Barry could see what was going on.

Barry could see his own body through Kiera's eyes and he used that to judge his body's movements. It was rough at first. He stumbled and walked forward awkwardly. It was as if he was using a controller in a video game to move a character on screen. Barry was determined to get this right. He knew Kiera couldn't take another beating. He focused on walking forward- towards the evil Meta-human.

Nightsense's excellent hearing made him turn his head, focusing on The Flash instead of Kiera. As his head turned, The Flash's fist hit his jaw at super speed. Nightsense fumbled backward and put his hand to his jaw, which now bled a little.

"How?" He asked, stunned that The Flash was up as if he still had his senses. Barry could still hear, but Kiera aided the rest.

The Flash smiled under his red mask. He did not answer Nightsense, but instead he ran at him, using his super speed. He watched his body and realized superspeed wasn't going to be easy at all, because Kiera couldn't him run like he could before. His body stopped suddenly; he'd over calculated. He now stood at the other end of the room, only five feet from running into the sidewall.

"Well I'll take your last sense, Flash." Nightsense spitted his name out as if it were poison. He snapped his fingers. "Hearing." He said and Barry lost his ability to hear. Hearing was helping him move his body accurately.

 _Well that's not good_. Kiera said mentally.

 _This is going to be even harder._ Barry said and steered his body around. Nightsense ran towards The Flash and used his running start to launch him in the air and bring his fist down in attempt to hit Flash's chest. Barry tried to move out of the way, but not fast enough. His fist punched Barry's shoulder. Barry couldn't feel it. But he knew it would have hurt a lot if he could. He swung his leg up, hitting Nightsense in the chest. Before he could pull away, the villain grabbed his leg and twisted, causing The Flash to turn and fall to the ground. That would have hurt even more.

Kiera tried to push herself up. She needed to get a better view of the fight for Barry and she needed to help defeat Nightsense. She just wasn't sure how yet. She winced as new pain surged through her sore back and her open wound; but she had to get up! She held in a scream as the pain got worse the more she moved. She guessed she had at least one bruised or broken rib, her back was probably badly bruised, her throat felt sore from his tight grip and her wound was open again. She was probably losing blood fast.

Barry tried to focus on the fight happening at the other side of the room. Steering his senseless body was quite a task. He knew he couldn't use his superspeed; it would just make it harder to navigate. He managed to make his body duck, dodge and occasionally return blows, but he knew he couldn't keep this up for long.

Kiera finally managed to stand up after a few minutes of struggling. She leaned forward and steadied herself by holding onto the doorway.

An idea came to her. A bad one, but she knew it had to be done if they were going to make it out of her alive.

They had to kill Nightsense.

"What's the likelihood of Barry's senses returning if he's gone?" Kiera whispered out loud to Cisco and Caitlin. She was trying to be vague, because she knew Nightsense could probably hear her.

"You mean if Nightsense dies?" Cisco asked, leaning forward in his chair, intrigued.

"Yes." Telegirl whispered.

K _iera, you can't do that. We can bring him in and put him in a cell where he can't do any damage anymore._ Barry said mentally as the two scientists tried to figure out the answer to her question. Barry continued to navigate his body out of the way of Nightsense's blows.

 _No. If we do that, Barry, you won't be able to be The Flash anymore. You wouldn't have any of your senses._ Kiera argued in her mind.

Barry didn't respond, but Kiera could feel he regrettably agreed. He'd be pretty much a vegetable, without any of his senses.

"We can't be one hundred percent positive, but there's a great possibility that his effects on Barry and the others will disappear once Nightsense is dead." Caitlin's voice said in Telegirl's earpiece.

That confirmed her idea. She had to kill Nightsense. She wasn't happy about it, but it had to be done. She didn't want another person to die. They weren't even sure if killing him would help Barry, but she had to try. She had to, or Barry would have to give up being Central City's hero. She couldn't picture this city without it's scarlet speedster defending it from any threat.

She leaned against the doorway on her right side, to avoid her open wound on her left. She tried to think of how she could kill him quickly. Barry's body wasn't doing well, so she had to act fast. She knew she couldn't fight him again, so that was out of the question.

Kiera glanced around the room. She could use her Telekinesis. She could slam him with a heavy object. It would be a quick death- she hoped. She glanced up at the ceiling.

 _Barry, get away from him!_ Kiera said mentally.

Barry made his body punch the villain in the gut before turning into a streak of yellow. His body ran toward the doorway. Barry knew it was a bad thing to do, the second he did it. His body was too fast for Kiera's eyes to see.

A bang rung in Kiera's ears and she looked to her right to see The Flash, laying in front of the glass wall.

 _Yep, that's going to hurt tomorrow._ Barry said as he carefully made himself stand and walk into the offices behind Kiera.

Telegirl looked back at Nightsense and put her hands up towards the ceiling. She concentrated on bringing the ceiling down on him. She lowered her arms in one fluid motion and then ran after The Flash into the office. She pulled his body behind a desk as a loud rumble filled the rooms. The remainder of the glass shattered as a section of the ceiling fell onto Nightsense. He didn't have time to get out from under the collapsing ceiling. For a second the noise was almost deafening and the room filled with flying dust and debris.

After a minute everything went eerily silent, that is before a groan.

"Kiera, you're knee is pushing my into spleen." A mumbled voice said.

Kiera slowly opened her eyes and saw she was lying on top of Barry. He was looking up at her. He could see again.

Kiera smiled relieved he was back. She happily looked down at him, not remembering what he said, just very happy. She momentarily forgot about the pain her body was suffering.

"My spleen." Barry said again.

"Oh! Right! Sorry!" Kiera said and pushed herself up. Her head hit the desk and she groaned an "Ouch!" before rubbing her head and getting out from under the desk carefully. She winced and stood up slowly, brushing off the dust and debris that coated her suit.

"What happened? Are you two alright?" Said a worried voice, they recognized as Caitlin's. She repeated several times into the microphone until Barry realized Cisco and Caitlin didn't know what had just happened.

"Yeah we're fine… I think." Barry replied as he glanced over at Kiera. He stood up, wobbly after regaining his senses. Now that he had his senses back, he could feel his sore aching muscles that had taken a hit earlier. He knew his fight was going to come back to bite him.

The Flash looked around and the scene around them. It looked like the station had survived a tornado. Everything was a mess. The desks surrounding them were covered in a thick layer of dust. Ceiling debris and glass was scattered all over the floor. In the main room, the scene was similar, but lying on the left side of the room was huge heap of fallen ceiling. Where Nightsense was likely buried. The Flash carefully walked over pieces of ceiling and broken glass as he made his way toward the heap. Kiera followed him slowly, her body still complaining about the abuse it had just been through. She definitely knew now that she was not a fighter.

Kiera and Barry stood in front of a large chunk of ceiling that now rested on the station's second floor. They saw a blooded hand coming out from underneath it. The Flash carefully picked up the side of the debris and pushed it away. Nightsense now they in front of them. He's black outfit didn't show the blood that was present. His body lay lifeless and slightly deformed. A little blood trickled out of his slightly open mouth.

Kiera took a shaky deep breath. She had killed this man. She had done it herself. She turned away from the scene and tried to hold in the tears that formed in her eyes. What had she become?

A murderer.

How was she any better than the man she killed?

Barry felt some of the pain- emotionally and physically- she was going through. He placed his gloved hand on Kiera's shoulder, trying to comfort her. He knew what she was going through. He'd killed also and he wasn't proud of it.

Their thoughts were interrupted by the noise of footsteps. The Flash and Kiera looked up and saw officers walk in, taking in the scene. They all looked like they were back to normal. Their senses had returned, just like Barry's had once Nightsense was dead. The Police Officers saw The Flash and an unfamiliar woman dressed in a dirty and bloody grey, silver and blue suit standing over the Meta-human who had attacked them.

"You're all safe now." The Flash said before picking up Telegirl and running out of the station.

The officers blinked as the yellow streak ran past them. They walked closer to the dead villain on the floor and now realized he was dead. They looked up and saw a large gapping hole in the ceiling. Wires and pipes hung out of the hole like tentacles framing the sight of the story above them.

* * *

 **WRITER'S** **NOTE: I have to give credit to my new friend, highlander348. She was the one that came up with the idea for most of this chapter. She came up with Nightsense and his abilities and how Telegirl and The Flash would fight him. Thank you so much for your help, my friend! (:**

 **Also, I'm going to post another poll on my profile. My friend also had the idea of Caitlin using some of Barry's blood in a transfusion to Kiera to help her body heal faster. I can't decide if I should use that idea in the next chapter or not, so I'll leave it up to you- my readers. So please go look for the poll and vote for what you think! (: Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

"It will work!" Caitlin insisted as she walked into S.T.A.R. Lab's main room, with Cisco following behind her. Morning light streamed in from the high windows on the back wall as they turned to each other and discussed.

"What if their blood isn't compatible?" he asked looking at the tablet Caitlin had handed him. It displayed the tests and scenarios Caitlin had run the night before. "What if it doesn't work for some reason?" he asked again as he looked up at her.

"We won't find out, because it _will_ work!" Caitlin said again, she was getting slightly annoyed by Cisco's repeated questions.

They walked into the small side room, where Kiera lay on her good side on the hospital bed. Kiera's eyes were closed as she tried to focus on anything other than the pain her body was going through. After running tests, they'd found Kiera had indeed broken a rib, ripped open her stab wound, had a badly bruised back, and bruising and swelling in her neck from Nightsense's choke hold.

Caitlin had done all she could to help her suffering patient, but Kiera was still in pain. Seeing her suffer made Caitlin come up with an idea late the night before. What if Barry's blood could be given to Kiera? Barry's fast healing ability might help Kiera heal faster and help her get back on her feet again. This thought had made Caitlin stay up all night testing their blood and testing theories.

Kiera opened her eyes to see Cisco and Caitlin walking into her new home-the makeshift hospital room that she couldn't seem to stay out of for more than twenty-four hours.

Being a hero and saving the day wasn't as easy as it looks, Keira had concluded.

* * *

Barry's body had healed quickly- as always- from their fight with Nightsense. After he took Kiera back to the lab yesterday he had taken a brief nap to let his body heal. He then checked on Kiera to make sure she was doing okay and had to rush back to Central City's Police Station to be Barry Allen, the Crime Scene Investigator.

The scene he walked into looked like some movie set for an end of the world blockbuster. The previously beautifully polished second floor of police station was now covered in dust, debris, blood, and broken glass. Yellow crime scene tape sectioned off the main floor from the elevator entrance, making Barry duck and walk under.

He relived that terrible fight as he bagged evidence. Detective Joe West stood over him as he kneeled down beside Nightsense's dead body. The damage was now more visible. Even from a distance it was clear he'd been smashed under a heavy piece of the ceiling. Barry glanced up at the giant hole in the ceiling. Kiera's Telekinesis had allowed her to bring down a large piece of the ceiling. Barry mentally measured the hole as nineteen feet by twenty-six feet.

Barry looked back down at the body. He hadn't actually seen what happened as Kiera had already ducked behind a desk, because at the time he still didn't have his own senses and was having to look through her eyes. But he knew the task was hard for Kiera- mentally and emotionally. He was in her head at the time, so he knew what she went through, but he also knew from personal experience. Taking a life-even if the person's intentions were pure evil-was emotionally devastating. And this was Kiera's first kill. He knew she would have a difficult emotional road ahead of her, but he'd be there to help her, and so would Cisco and Caitlin. He was just glad she was not mentally connected to this Meta-human, like she was with Tidal Wave. It would make this time less painful. He could still see the pain in her eyes and he could feel her sadness and guilt due to their mental connection. She was still recovering from Tidal Wave's death and now she had to deal with another death- a Meta-human that she killed herself.

"Barry?" a deep voice asked from behind him. "Barry, did you hear me?"

Barry was brought out of his thoughts. "What?" he asked and turned his head to see Detective Joe West was still standing behind him.

"Are you done with the body?" Joe asked again, having seen Barry stare at the dead villain for several minutes. It was not his usual stare which meant he was taking in details and theories. This stare meant Barry was too deep in his own thoughts to know where he was. Joe had seen this look many times while raising Barry.

"Oh, uh yes." Barry stood up and the police coroner stepped in to get the body ready for removal. "I have a few more samples to take and then I'll be done." He added as he stepped toward the wrecked office room. Barry stopped at the small puddle of blood that had formed and mixed with the broken glass below the broken glass wall. This is where Kiera had been when she had taken the hard hits from Nightsense. This is where her stab wound had opened again.

Barry slowly looked up at the ruined wall and saw the smeared blood that made a line on the other side of the wall. This is where she was thrown and had to drag herself to the door so he could see his own body fight. He cringed as he remembered the pain. He had experienced pain like that before and even worse pain, but he hadn't felt it through someone else. He remembered feeling hopeless. He couldn't help her up or help ease her pain. He shook his head to get rid of the thoughts once more and kneeled down to take a sample from the pool of blood at his feet. He already knew who's it was, but he couldn't tell anyone that.

Barry already had a plan. He was going to take samples and pretend to test them, but in reality he'd dispose of the blood and say he could not get a conclusive result. They couldn't have the police knowing it was Kiera who had battled the evil Meta-human- or that she was Telegirl.

He collected more blood samples from all over the crime scene, before he stopped in front the crime scene's right wall and stared down at a small puddle of blood. This was his own blood, well, his and Nightsense's. This is where his body and the villain had entered a fistfight. Memories ran through Barry's mind. He remembered the way Nightsense had fought with such skill and precision. Each punch targeted a damaging section of his body. He did not look scared or anxious. He seemed relaxed and sure of himself. He must have had some kind of military training. If Barry had his senses, the fight would have been easier. But since he was watching through Kiera's eyes, he wasn't able to fight using his super speed.

Barry collected the rest of the blood samples from the wall and floor and went upstairs to work.

* * *

"You want to do a blood transfusion with Barry's blood to help me heal?" Kiera asked after Caitlin had finished explaining her idea.

"Yes. I believe Barry's blood contains his ability to heal quickly. So, if we give you some of his blood, you should heal more quickly. You're recovery time should be cut in half at least." Caitlin explained.

Kiera looked over at Cisco, who was sitting on the other side of the small room, for reassurance. Cisco took a deep breath. "It could work, but I'm not positive. We don't even know if your body will accept his altered blood." Cisco said with a sigh.

"I ran tests. I combined your blood and they didn't seem to have any negative results. It should work." Caitlin insisted. She was tired. She had spent all night testing the blood and running scenarios. She knew this would work.

"What does Barry think about this?" Kiera asked, still uncertain. She had shifted uneasily when Cisco had said her body might not accept the blood. Of course her mind went to the worst possible scenario. What if she went into shock? What if her body rejected Barry's blood and she died from it?

"I haven't told him yet." Caitlin admitted. "But he should be here around dinner time. I was going to tell him then."

Kiera nodded. "Then we'll wait to see what he thinks."

They nodded, agreeing and Caitlin walked out to do more work. Cisco moved the large monitor back to the side of the bed so Kiera could see it, and they watched the second Matrix movie while they waited.

* * *

Barry was lost in his forensic work; he didn't hear the knock at the door. Joe walked in and saw Barry sitting at his desk, mumbling about the results he was reading on the computer screen in front of him.

"Barry?" Joe said softly, not wanting to scare him. He knew Barry often didn't know what was happening around him while he worked. Barry didn't look up. "Bar!" Joe said louder.

"Mm?" A disoriented Barry said as he slowly looked up. "Oh, Joe! Is it lunch time already?"

"Lunch time? Bar, it's five thirty!" Joe told him; worried that Barry was working too hard, as always. "You didn't stop and eat lunch? You must be starving, what with your-" Joe paused and looked behind him to make sure there wasn't anyone near by. "Flash metabolism and all." Joe finished as he looked back at his adopted son.

"Five thirty? No? No!" Barry stood up quickly and looked at the clock. It was indeed half past five in the evening. "I'm late! I got to go!" He said as he patted his jean pant's pockets, looking for his phone. He turned and searched under piles of paper and finally found it.

Joe chuckled as he watched Barry scramble. "No surprise there! You're always late, Bar!"

The young scientist grabbed his jacket and rushed to the door. "Yeah. Yeah." He said, half-heartedly. He always got teased about that, even though he was in fact the fastest man alive. He half walked, half ran-at a normal human speed that is-out into the hallway. Joe's laugh faded as Barry took the stairs two-by-two. He carefully managed his way around construction workers who were working on the damaged second floor. They had already made the place look almost back to normal except for the huge hole in the ceiling.

Barry headed into the elevator and then out the front door. He had promised to get dinner from Big Belly Burger for Kiera, Caitlin and Cisco. He ducked into an alley, making sure no one saw him and then sped to the fastfood place.

Again he ducked into an alley and came out walking before he reached Big Belly Burger. After getting ten bags of fastfood he carefully rushed off to S.T.A.R. Labs.

In only a few seconds, he ran into the lab's side door and into The Flash's headquarters. Papers flew everywhere as Barry skidded to a stop in the doorway of the makeshift hospital room, so that Caitlin could see him from where she sat at the main desk and so that Kiera and Cisco could see him also from the smaller room.

"Who's hungry? I'm starving!" He exclaimed as he held up his arms to display the fast food bags.

"Me!" Cisco said as he paused the movie and jumped up to grab his order. Barry handed him his bag of food, Cisco unwrapped a burger and took a bite as he asked, "What took you so long, dude?"

"Oh uh, traffic. Long lines." Barry lied as he fumbled with the bags.

"He lost track of time." Caitlin mumbled as she walked to Barry. He held out her order and opened his mouth to tell her she was wrong, but he knew there was no point lying to her. They all knew him too well. Caitlin nodded and grinned at his response. "That's what I thought." She said as she walked past him, into the smaller room.

"Well, I'm here now!" Barry said as they followed and carefully handed Kiera her dinner. Kiera was still having to lie on her side. She took the small bag and thanked him.

"Thank God for super speed!" Cisco said. He was finishing his second burger as Caitlin sat down beside him. She opened her own burger, took a bite and sighed.

"You shouldn't be allowed to use your super speed while carrying food! My burger is cold!"

"Right, sorry!" Barry flashed an apologetic smile before sitting down on a chair beside the bed and digging into his dinner. Barry had ordered seven bags of hamburgers, fries, and shakes for himself. He hadn't realized just how hungry he was until he took his first bite of the delicious hamburger. Without realizing it, he ate his dinner at super speed. All the others saw were blurred arms as he ate. In only one minute, Barry finished his meal and sat back smiling like a little boy who just had his favorite flavor of ice cream.

Kiera laughed, not used to his speed trick yet. She winced in pain as her laugh caused her broken rib to shift and her stitched stab wound to pull apart slightly. She put down her half eaten burger and shifted in bed carefully, trying to get comfortable.

"Are you okay?" Barry asked as he watched her face display discomfort. He could feel his own ribs and abdomen ache in response to her pain. He knew the pain was much worse for her.

"Yeah, I guess comedy movies are out for a while." She joked, referencing to her and Cisco having watched movies earlier. The three scientists chuckled sympathetically and Kiera smiled. She picked up her burger again and continued to eat.

Seeing Kiera in visible pain again made Caitlin speak up. She explained her idea to Barry, who listened intrigued. Caitlin handed him the tablet which displayed her test results. He looked them over and agreed it did seem the blood transfusion could work flawlessly. Barry looked over at Kiera who was listening as she ate slowly. He could feel her nervousness, but she started to calm down once he agreed. He looked down quickly at tablet Caitlin had provided as he grinned. He had put her at ease.

Barry cleared his throat awkwardly and looked up at Caitlin, "When are you wanting to try this?" he asked as he set the tablet down on a table.

"Well, as soon as possible so Kiera can heal," Caitlin answered.

"What do you think about trying it tonight, Kiera?" Barry asked as he looked back at her.

She finished her meal and took a sip of soda to wash it down. "I guess we could try." She nodded, still slightly anxious.

He smiled at her to reassure her. "Good. Then we'll do it tonight."

Caitlin nodded and finished her meal, before heading to the restroom to wash her hands.

"Again, needles and blood, not my forte. I'll be downstairs," Cisco said and walked out of the room. He had gotten some ideas for new gadgets while he was eating.

"It will work, Kiera. You'll be fine," Barry whispered once they were alone, trying to help her relax.

"Right," she said and nodded, trying to put on a brave face. "I just never, uh, liked needles."

Without thinking Barry slowly reached out his hand and took hers. He just felt like it was the right thing to do. Kiera looked at his hand and then slowly up to meet his eyes.

Their moment was interrupted as Caitlin walked back into the room. "Ready?" she asked as she put on latex gloves.

"Yes," Kiera's voice sounded shakier than she wanted it to. She quickly turned her head to look at the young female doctor and awkwardly shifted her weight. Barry sat up straighter and nodded, telling Caitlin he was ready also.

"Before I take your blood I need to check your vitals, Barry." Caitlin said as she pushed a small table that held a monitor and other equipment.

"Right." Barry said as he folded his sleeve up. Caitlin wrapped the blood pressure cuff around his arm, then she used the pulse oximeter on his finger to take his pulse and swiped a thermometer over his forehead to take his temperature. She logged the data and then got an empty blood bag, a sterile IV tube and a new needle from some drawers. She cleaned the inside of Barry's elbow and skillfully pushed the needle into his arm. Kiera looked away as the needle went in. Even though it wasn't her arm the needle was going into, it still made her cringe. The blood bag- now connected to the needle by the tube- rested on a scale beside Barry.

A half an hour later, Caitlin carefully took the needle out of Barry's arm and threw away the needle and tube. She took the blood bag off the scale and walked around the hospital bed, grabbing the nearby IV stand, a new IV tube and a new needle as she walked.

Caitlin took Kiera's vitals as she had with Barry and logged them. "Are you ready, Kiera?" She asked, facing Kiera's back. Kiera took a deep breath and nodded as she looked over at Barry for support. He did not look away from her eyes, telling her through his eyes and expression that everything was going to be fine.

Caitlin moved Kiera's arm slowly and cleaned the inside of her elbow. "Remember to breathe." She said in a reassuring tone as she very slowly pushed the needle into Kiera's arm and hung the blood bag on the IV stand beside the bed.

Without thinking, Kiera's other arm sprang out and she took Barry's hand. He squeezed her hand gently and smiled as they held hands again. Their touch made Kiera enter Barry's mind again. Kiera was grateful this time; it helped distract her from the needle in her arm.

One of Barry's memories flashed before Kiera's eyes. She saw his first memory he could recall.

The memory was of a trip he took with his family. Barry was only three years old at the time. He sat in car seat in the backseat of their family car, watching the buildings flash by him as his father drove the family out of Central City. His mother looked back at him and smiled. "How are you doing, Barry?" She had asked him.

"Good, Mom." He had responded. Kiera saw his mother through Barry's eyes; she was young and beautiful. Her eyes sparkled with love and her genuine smile was warm and inviting.

His father turned the car into a parking lot and Barry looked out the window at the marvelous sight. Large brightly colored tents stood tall on the other side of the parking lot. Barry's mouth opened as he saw a very big Ferris wheel standing in the distance. There were also food stands filled with yummy treats, a slow moving Merry-go-round turning nearby and several other rides spun, sped and rose around the grounds. To the left a large fenced in area held many exotic animals. Happy people of all shapes and sizes were walking around the place enjoying the evening of entertainment.

The Allen family had arrived at a carnival. Kiera could feel young Barry's excitement as his mother helped him out of the car.

The happy little family spent many hours exploring the grounds. They rode rides, watched live shows, played games, ate food and candy, petted zebras and rode camels. This was one of Barry's happiest memories.

Kiera blinked as the memory ended. She had been smiling the whole time. Barry sharing that memory with her made her feel happy, loved, and cared for. She saw he was still sitting beside her and still holding her hand. He also had a smile on his face. He had remembered that memory with her. It was a sweet memory of him and his parents, one that he often recalled. It made him forget his mother had passed.

"All done," Caitlin said as she carefully pulled the needle out of Kiera's arm.

Kiera turned her head to look at the young doctor. "Already? That was fast!" She said, stunned. Barry nodded, agreeing with Kiera.

"Fast?" Caitlin asked surprised as she looked at Kiera and Barry. "The transfusion took a hour."

"A hour? What? No! It was only a minute," Kiera argued. She had been so wrapped up in Barry's memory that time practically flew by. She looked over at the clock on the wall. _7:23_. It really had been an hour. "Wow!" she exclaimed.

Caitlin threw the empty blood bag, tube and needle in the trash and moved the IV stand out of the way. She then took Kiera's vitals once more, to make sure the transfusion went well. "You both should be fine, but Barry it might be a good idea to not go speeding around for a least a few hours. And Kiera, your arm will probably feel sore for a couple days. You should rest. I'll come back and check on you in an hour to see if Barry's blood has started working or not. I'll be right outside if you start feeling any symptoms. All you need to do is shout," she said and smiled, before walking out of the room.

Kiera nodded at Caitlin and turned her head back towards Barry. "Thank you," she whispered.

"For what?" he asked as he looked back at her.

"For sharing that sweet memory with me," she smiled. "It really helped me relax."

"No problem," he replied with a smile and gently squeezed her hand.

Kiera felt her heart fill with happiness as she looked into the eyes of the young man in front of her. He felt the same and they could feel their connection grow.

What felt like hours, but also only second later Barry's phone rang. He let go of Kiera's hand and jabbed his hand into his pant's pocket. He fumbled for his phone and when he finally took it out he saw it was Joe calling. He quickly answered,

"Hey, Joe."

"Hey. Do you have the results back for the tests you did on the station's crime scene? The Captain is asking for them," Joe asked as he searched under piles of books, and papers scattered all over Barry's lab at the police station.

"Oh uh, right. Yes," Barry said into the phone as he collected his thoughts. "I put the papers in a blue folder on the left side of my desk, on top of the pile of books."

"Ah, see it." Joe said as he picked up the folder. "Thank you, Bar. See you at home later? Or are you staying at the lab to be with her?" Joe asked with a joking tone, teasing Barry about his new 'girlfriend'- as Joe called her.

Barry's cheeks flushed and he muttered, "I'll see you later."

"You've got to come home sometime!" Joe managed to say before Barry ended the call.

* * *

An hour later, Caitlin came back in, just as she said she would.

"How are you feeling, Kiera?" She asked as she stopped beside the bed.

Kiera glanced over at Barry who had stayed by her side the whole time and then over at Caitlin. "Better." She smiled. "I think it's starting to work."

"Great to hear." Caitlin said, relieved. "I'd like to run some tests and take a look at your wound and bruises to see how they are healing."

Kiera nodded and the young female doctor helped her sit up. Caitlin helped her into a wheelchair and then pushed her out of the room. She pushed Kiera into S.T.A.R. Lab's X-ray room and took X-rays of Kiera's ribs.

After Caitlin was done, she helped her back into the wheelchair and pushed her back into the small hospital room. Barry was ushered out, so Caitlin could take Kiera's shirt off and examine her mid-section.

Caitlin carefully unwrapped the cloth that helped keep Kiera's broken rib in place and took off the large bandage that was taped over the stab wound. Caitlin couldn't help but smile. Kiera's wound was now healing faster than normal. Barry's blood had started to work in Kiera's body.

"That means it's working?" Kiera asked as she saw the doctor smile.

"Yes it is. Not as fast as Barry's healing, but from what I can see it is working. The results of the X-rays should be ready any minute." Caitlin said as she patched up the wound and rewrapped Kiera's abdomen. She helped Kiera into her shirt and walked to the computer to check the results. "Yep, it seems your rib is starting to heal faster also." She said as she looked at the X-rays.

"So when can I get out of this bed… again?" Kiera asked.

"I'm not positive yet, but if I had to guess, I'd say by tomorrow night your injuries should be healed enough for you to stand and walk again." Caitlin said with a smile.

Kiera returned the smile, happy to hear she'd be able to get out of this tiny room soon.

"Good news?" Barry asked as he knocked on the doorframe with Cisco standing behind him. They were covering their eyes with their hands in case Kiera was still undressed. The women chuckled- Kiera was careful not to laugh hard enough to move her abdomen.

"You can come in, boys." Caitlin called as she laughed. "The blood is already starting to work." She smiled and then gave Cisco an 'I told you it would work' look. Cisco held his arms up in surrender and smiled. She had proven him wrong and he accepted that.

"Caitlin estimates I can get back on my feet in about a day." Kiera said with a smile, happy that she wouldn't have to stay in this dreaded hospital bed for much longer. The two boys smiled, happy to see she was feeling better.

"I'll need to keep an eye on you. I don't know how fast you're healing yet, but yes that's my guess. You'll still need to take it easy though." Caitlin butted in.

"And maybe even training my abilities soon after that! I still don't know all I can do." Kiera added.

"Take it one day at a time," Caitlin chuckled as Kiera got excited.

"Maybe tomorrow we can go see Jack Clark's family, like I promised you," Barry said.

"Yes! That wouldn't take much energy," Kiera looked over at female doctor, practically begging her.

"It's sounds okay, but we'll see," Caitlin said with authority, not wanting Kiera too get her hopes up too much. She knew Kiera needed to see that family, to help her find closure after Tidal Wave's death, but she didn't want her to rush out of the lab too fast.

They all smiled, relieved that Kiera was getting better and that things were getting back to normal, well as normal as it could be in Central City.

* * *

Kiera spent the night resting on her good side in the hospital bed and being examined and tested by Caitlin. Kiera didn't seem to have any negative reactions to Barry's blood. Kiera wondered if it was because they were both Meta-humans or if it had to do with their growing connection.

By morning her injuries had already healed by forty percent. As she woke, she was able to sit up in bed without the sharp pain in her lower abdomen, her ribs or back. Seeing that Caitlin was in the other room resting, Kiera managed to swing her legs out of the bed and stand up slowly. Right away she could tell she was feeling much better than yesterday. She carefully walked around to the other side of the bed and back. She stopped in front of a mirror and turned around. Kiera carefully pulled up her shirt and unwrapped the white cloth around her torso. She looked over her shoulder at her own back. Just yesterday it had been black and blue from Nightsense pushing her through the glass wall and her back slamming into the hard floor on the other side the day before. Now as she looked at her back, she could still see bruising, but this time they were faded and more purple and brown then black and blue. She smiled as she finally saw proof she was healing quickly.

"It's working," Barry whispered, as he happened to walk in while she was looking at her back.

Kiera raised her gaze in the mirror to see Barry standing behind her. She lowered her shirt quickly and turned around to look at him. She nodded. "Thank you. Without your blood, I'd probably be in that bed for weeks or even months," She glanced at the hospital bed and then back at him.

"You deserved it after you defeated Nightsense and helped give me and all the others our senses back," Barry replied softly.

Kiera looked down at the floor. She still didn't feel like she had done the right thing by killing him. "But I killed him. I killed a human being," She mumbled; her heart feeling like it was falling into her stomach.

"Kiera…" Barry whispered as he slowly walked towards her. She saw his shoes stop only a couple inches from her small sock-covered feet. He softly pushed her chin up with his hand, until her eyes met his softened blue eyes. "You had to do it. It was the right thing to do." He leaned an inch closer and whispered a little quieter. "You are a hero, Telegirl." His mouth curled up into a smile as he said her Meta-human name. She couldn't help but smile in return. Barry tilted his head and leaned in slowly until their lips met. The sweet kiss lasted only a few seconds, but they felt the sweetness linger on their lips as they both pulled back slowly and looked into each other's eyes. Their emotions mixed into one and their connection grew even deeper.

* * *

 **WRITER'S** **NOTE: Sorry for the long wait. I was busy the last few days.**

 **This chapter was short, in terms of what happened. I wanted to have Barry revisit the scene and see the results with his own eyes. And since the poll showed four people said yes they'd like to see Barry's blood given to Kiera so she could heal faster, and no one voted no, I added the transfusion scene. Thank you to those of you who voted! And thank you again to my friend 'highlander348' for coming up with the idea of the blood transfusion.**

 **The next chapter will have Kiera and Barry visiting Tidal Wave's family, the team helping to train Kiera and maybe more. (: I know the training scene will take time to write, so I apologize ahead of time if Chapter 9 isn't up right in the next couple days. Please have patience with me. (: Thanks!**


	9. Chapter 9

"You've gotta see this!" Cisco shouted as he ran into Kiera's makeshift hospital room a few hours after the transfusion. Caitlin looked up from the main desk as Cisco ran by. She glanced over at Barry, who was across the large room talking to Detective Joe West on the phone.

"Gotta go." Barry said into the phone and hung up. He and Caitlin rushed into the room after Cisco to see why he was so excited.

Kiera was laying on her back in the hospital room, feeling much better. Caitlin had run more tests recently and they found that her injuries were eighty percent healed. Kiera looked up as Cisco ran in and started fumbling with a nearby computer as the other two scientists walked in a few seconds later. Cisco turned the monitor he was working on so everyone could see.

The screen displayed the local Central City news channel. A pretty dark haired newscaster was in the middle of giving breaking news.

"-just received footage from Central City's Police Station. We finally get to see what happened inside yesterday evening. This video shows graphic images. Please be warned it might not by suitable for sensitive viewers."

The computer's image changed to an enhanced video from one of the police station's second story cameras. The video was angled down to see the scene below. At first the video showed police officers and detectives walking around, conducting their normal business, but then two police officers dragged a young man out of the elevator. Barry, Kiera, Caitlin and Cisco recognized him as Nightsense. A smirk grew on his face, making Kiera shutter. The next second Nightsense snapped his fingers and pointed his them at the officers holding his arms. They heard him say "Sight!" over the noises in the room. The officers looked around with confused reactions as they realized they couldn't see. Before then officers could react, Nightsense shouted out "Touch!" as he snapped his fingers and pointed again. His smirk widened, as the men couldn't feel what they were holding onto anymore. Nightsense shrugged out of their grasp and started taking away senses from every police officer that tried to come near.

Barry balled his fists as he watched. Even though this was in the past and the villain was dead now, it still made him angry that Nightsense was playing with the police.

They continued to watch as Nightsense overpowered the officers and detectives, until they were all on the floor, unable to do anything. A few seconds later, a yellow streak appeared on the screen.

The Flash had arrived.

They watched as the scene played out on the monitor. The Flash saved the police officer that tried to defend his friends. Then he came back and took the rest of the officers out of the room, before Nightsense could do anymore harm. They heard Nightsense's voice as he took away The Flash's sight. Kiera held her breath. She knew what was going to happen, but the scene was still difficult to watch. Her friend, Barry, was in trouble and she had felt so useless. She wasn't there to help her friend.

They heard Nightsense taunt The Flash. This was the first time Kiera saw this part of what happened. When it had happened she was driving the Lab's van, trying reach Barry in time to help him. Nightsense claimed The Flash was nothing more than a kid who wanted to play dress-up and save the city. All The Flash could do was lay on the floor and listen.

Barry gritted his teeth as he watched, his anger surfacing again. Kiera saw a crackle of yellow lightning run of his fist as he started at the scene. Nightsense was continuing to taunt The Flash as the elevator's doors opened and Kiera- in her full costume stepped out. Kiera couldn't believe that was actually her- on the T.V.

They watched Nightsense turn his attention toward Kiera and asked whom she was. "My name's-" Kiera paused and stood taller, feet planted shoulder width apart, "Telegirl!"

"That's right, sucker! Watch out! Telegirl is here!" Cisco shouted at the screen and they all laughed; the tension in the room subsiding for a few seconds.

They watched as Nightsense taunted Telegirl before he tried to take her sight. Nightsense's confused reaction was clear even to the security camera. Nightsense backed Kiera up against the station's golden mural and tried to punch her, but Kiera- learning The Flash's moves from his memories- ducked and stepped around the villain and backed up until she stood in front of the office's glass wall. Telegirl wasn't fast enough as Nightsense charged her and punched her in the ribs, continuing to hit as much as he could.

Kiera winced as she watched the footage of herself getting beaten. The pain came back to her and she placed a hand on her healing rib as the scene continued to play out. Barry's knuckles turned white as he tightened his fists, watching Kiera suffer at the hands of the evil Meta-human.

Nightsense choked Telegirl and they watched as she was sent backwards, crashing into the glass wall. They could hear the 'thud' from the security camera's recording as she landed on the other side of the shattered wall.

It was painful for everyone to watch as Telegirl dragged herself to the doorway. Suddenly The Flash started to move. Kiera imagined how confused Central City's citizens probably were as they watched their hero get up after having lost his senses.

"No one can keep The Flash down for long," Kiera said as she watched Nightsense whip around to face The Flash. Barry smiled back at Kiera for what she said and then they turned their attention back to the screen.

The Flash and Nightsense were now fist fighting. The Flash turned into a streak of yellow again and ran into the glass wall beside Telegirl.

Kiera winced and closed her eyes tight as she remembered how hard it was for Barry to steer his own body. She opened them slowly, just as the ceiling fell on top of Nightsense- ending his life. The footage ended as Telegirl and The Flash stood over Nightsense.

"What you just watched was footage from Central City's police station," the newswoman said, reminding the audience as the image changed to show her face. "The footage showed The Flash and a new hero, who called herself 'Telegirl', battling a man who the police say could take away people's senses," She continued as a slightly blurry still from the video displaying The Flash and Telegirl appeared beside the newswoman. "It appears Central City has a new hero! Telegirl helped The Flash save the city. If you are listening Flash and Telegirl, thank you for saving Central City once more."

Cisco paused the news as the picture of the two heroes filled the screen and grinned wide. "Telegirl is officially one of Central City's heroes! Congrats Kiera!"

"I just helped The Flash-" Kiera said.

"You saved the day," Barry interrupted and smiled.

"And the suit looks awesome on camera!" Cisco said, crossing his arms and inspecting the suit he made for Telegirl.

Everyone laughed.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this now? Maybe you should wait until you're better."

"Yes, Barry. I have to. I promised him I would," Kiera answered him for what felt like the hundredth time. The day after her transfusion in the small makeshift hospital room, Caitlin was helping Kiera get back into her Telegirl suit while Barry paced back and forth outside the room. Kiera was feeling much better when she woke up earlier that morning, so she had made up her mind to go see Tidal Wave's family. Kiera wanted to just show up at their house and talk to them, but Barry convinced her that wasn't a good idea. Having a stranger who claimed to know their dead family member would freak them out. And no one could know the identity of Telegirl, especially not after all the attention she was getting. Cisco had come up with the idea of hacking into the family's television and playing a video message of The Flash and Telegirl. They'd show the family that they just wanted to talk and didn't want to scare them. The team had decided to ask the family to meet outside of S.T.A.R. Labs later that evening and if the family wanted to know what really happened, they'd meet them there.

Barry still wasn't convinced this was a good idea. He was the one who accidently killed Tidal Wave. Barry had allowed Kiera into his mind again and showed her what the news had been saying what happened last week while Kiera was unconscious. The news cameras at the scene showed the hurricane collapsing, The Flash and Telegirl running away and Tidal Wave's dead body floating out into the river. They told the story, claiming The Flash and his partner- a new mysterious masked female- killed him on purpose and fled the scene. They didn't know what actually happened that day. Barry knew that if the family watched the news they most likely blamed them for murdering their loved one in cold blood.

Barry was also hesitant to do this meeting, because he knew Kiera wasn't full healed yet. He wasn't sure if she could handle the emotional and possible physical part of this plan.

He glanced over at Cisco who was setting up the camera that would record The Flash and Telegirl's message. The young mechanical engineer gave Barry a look that clearly said 'don't even try to argue with her. She's going to do this whether you want her to or not.' Barry sighed. He knew Cisco was right. Kiera had promised Tidal Wave that she would make sure his family was safe and let them know he loved them more than anything. The team had recently noticed just how stubborn Kiera could be. Once she put her mind to something, she didn't take no for an answer. That trait seemed to have surfaced even more when she was forced to stay in the hospital bed. Even though Caitlin instructed her to stay in bed and rest, Kiera kept getting up and walking around. She looked like a caged animal trying to get out and run free.

"Honestly. I'm fine," Kiera said as she stepped out of the room, dressed in her light blue and grey suit, and saw Barry's worried face. "If I suddenly feel worse, you'll know." She added, knowing Barry would feel a small amount of the pain she would feel due to their link.

Kiera pushed her long blonde hair off her shoulders and placed the halo-like silver ring on her head.

"Come on, slow-poke! Get dressed!" She teased as she put her mask on.

Barry's mood lightened and he chuckled at her joke. In a streak of yellow lightning The Flash's suit disappeared off the mannequin in the room. Kiera blinked and suddenly he stood in front of her donning his heroic red suit. Barry held up his arms, parading the fact that he could change in a matter of seconds. Kiera laughed in response.

"Better?" Barry asked, grinning.

"Yes, much," Kiera teased.

Barry shook his head and laughed.

"The camera's ready," Cisco said in an attempt to get the two to realize they weren't the only two in the room.

"Traffic cameras show the Clark family is home," Caitlin- who had walked past the two and had sat down at the desk several minutes before- added reminding them what they were supposed to be focusing on.

"Right," Barry turned on his heels to face the other two scientists. He glanced over at Kiera and asked, "Ready?"

She nodded slowly and took a deep breath to keep herself calm.

Caitlin stood up and directed the two to their places as Cisco checked to make sure the camera was in focus and ready to record.

"And action!" Cisco shouted acting as if he was a Hollywood director and pressed the camera's record button.

"Hello Clark family," The Flash said into the camera. "I'm sure you've seen the news and read articles about Jack Clark's death." Barry stood as straight as he could, but compassion written on his face could still be seen under his red mask.

Kiera heard Barry swallow hard. He wasn't sure what to say. She looked into the camera. "We want to tell you what really happened. And I-" She paused, unsure how to talk about her abilities. "I got to talk to him before he passed. He loved you all very much."

Out of the camera's shot, Barry gently took Kiera's hand, to help comfort her. He could feel her emotions coming to the surface. Kiera quickly wiped a tear from below her eye with her free hand before it could slide down onto her mask.

"If you want to know what really happened, please meet us at the waterfront behind S.T.A.R. Labs at seven o'clock tonight. If you don't show we'll understand," The Flash said as he looked empathically into the camera and then nodded at Cisco to end the recording.

Cisco pressed stop and picked up the camera. He sat back down at his dead and plugged it into the computer.

Kiera took off her mask and took a deep breath to recover.

Barry pushed the red hooded mask back off his head. _Are you okay?_ He asked mentally as he gently squeezed her hand.

She nodded and looked up at him. _I unlocked his memories and emotions again. I'm okay now._

Barry nodded at her, trying to understand what she was going through. They walked over and stood behind Caitlin and Cisco as Cisco hacked into the family's television feed.

"Thanks to Felicity's lessons this went quicker. Sending the message over-" Cisco paused and continued typing. "Now," he said as he pressed the enter key on his keyboard.

"Now what?" Kiera asked as she watched over Cisco's shoulder.

Cisco sat back in his chair. "Now we wait until this evening," he answered.

"Well that gives me time to go back to my apartment," Kiera said and sighed. "And officially get fired from my job for not showing up in almost two weeks."

"Oh, rough," Cisco said, inhaling sharply through his teeth as he spun his chair around. Caitlin gave him a look.

"I can bring you to your place if you'd like," Barry offered.

"It's okay. I'll take a taxi. You have a job you probably want to keep, anyways." Kiera replied faster than she wanted to. She honestly didn't want Barry to have to see the miserable apartment she lived in again.

"Oh right." Barry looked up at the clock on the wall.

"Late again?" Caitlin joked and they all laughed.

"See you guys later for dinner," Barry mumbled embarrassed. In a gust of wind that blew Caitlin and Kiera's hair back and sent more papers flying, Barry had changed and ran out.

"We really need to keep papers off the desk." Caitlin muttered as she stood up and collected the loose papers.

"See you guys later," Kiera said as she headed towards the door.

"Uh, you forgot something," Cisco said and pointed at her suit.

"Oh, right!" Kiera looked down and saw she was still in her Telegirl suit. She headed back to the small room on the other side of the room. "Can you please help me again, Caitlin?" She added and Caitlin nodded, following her into the room.

With the doctor's help, Kiera got out of the suit and into spare S.T.A.R. Labs clothes. Caitlin tried to get her to rest, as she was still healing, but Kiera refused. The young doctor was able to convince her to take some pain medication to help ease what pain she still had. Kiera called a taxi and went outside to wait.

A few minutes later she was sitting in the taxi as it headed towards her apartment. And not to long after that she was standing on the curb, looking up at the neglected exterior of her apartment building. She took a deep breath and walked inside.

The landlord's door was open and he caught sight of her as she walked by. He demanded the rent payment and wouldn't leave Kiera's side until she got in her apartment and gave him the money she owed him- which was pretty much all of her savings.

Once the landlord left, Kiera tried her best to clean her apartment before getting ready to go to her work. She made a quick lunch with what she could find in her kitchen that hadn't gone bad and changed into her own clothes.

She decided to walk to work- like she used to- so she wouldn't have to spend more money on a taxi. Not having much work experience, Kiera had to get a job at a local grocery store when she first got to Central City several years ago. The job barely paid her bills, but she didn't really have any other choice.

Kiera stopped and straightened her back before entering the store and heading back to the manager's office. The meeting went as Kiera expected. The manager was upset that she hadn't even called in almost two weeks to tell him what happened. She tried to explain that she had two terrible accidents- not going into any details- but the manager wouldn't hear it and fired her.

On her way back to her apartment she tried to figure out what she was going to do next. She'd have to try to get another job as soon as she could, just so she could stay in her apartment.

Kiera sighed as she entered her apartment and collapsed on the small couch that took up half of her living room. She winced at the slight pain in her abdomen, reminding her that her injuries still weren't fully healed. She carefully lifted her shirt, unwrapped the cloth around her mid section and took off the taped bandage over her stab wound. She looked down and saw that the stitched wound was now only a thin red line. The skin was healing faster than she realized. She gently ran her finger over the line as she remembered the night it happened. The man's deep voice and shadows for a face. His breath stunk like month old garbage. The way he practically shoved her into the alley's wall. Kiera shook her head and pushed the memories out her mind- but one remained. Barry. He had somehow known exactly where she was and that she needed help. Kiera still didn't understand how, but she was grateful he found her when he did. If he hadn't of been there, she probably would have been killed, or at least left for dead. She hadn't had her phone with her, so she wouldn't have been able to call 911. She could have died in that dirty alley and no one would have known.

Kiera placed the bandage back over her wound and wrapped her abdomen as best she could. Before she could get up she felt her eyelids get heavy. The painkillers Caitlin had given her must have had a drowsiness warning, because her head started feeling heavy also and pretty soon she was asleep.

A memory became a dream as she slept. What she saw was sunny park with happy kids of all ages. She was focusing on one particular little girl. The girl couldn't have been more than six years old, her black hair flew in every direction as she jumped up and down on the hopscotch outline on the sidewalk. Kiera's eyes moved to look at a swing set nearby. A middle-aged woman with dark hair was pushing a light brown haired boy, who looked to be maybe three years old, on a swing. His tiny legs kicked back and forth as his mother pushed him gently. Kiera suddenly felt happy. Pure joy as she watched the little girl and the mother with her son.

It dawned on Kiera as she watched, that this was Jack Clark's- also known as Tidal Wave- memory. She was experiencing one of Jack's favorite memories through his own eyes. The memory of his happy and carefree family on a beautiful summer day at a park.

The little girl looked up from the game she was playing and ran towards the bench Jack was sitting on. At the top of her lungs she shouted, "Daddy!" and giggled as her little legs ran down the sidewalk.

Kiera jolted awake. It took her a second to realize she was in her apartment and back in her own body. She wasn't Jack Clark. She wasn't experiencing one of his memories anymore. A loud knock on the door made Kiera realize that's what woke her.

"Coming!" She said as she stood up carefully. "I already paid you. What else do you want?" Kiera said as she unlocked the door and opened it, expecting to see the angry landlord on the other side. Instead a young man with brown hair and a smile stood before her.

"Barry?" She asked, not sure if she was actually seeing him or was just imagining it.

"Hey," He said.

"How did you find my place?" Kiera asked as her drowsiness finally started to wear off.

"I remembered the building you directed us to the other day and walked inside. Your landlord saw me and told me where you live. He's not very nice. I don't think he likes you that much."

"He doesn't like anyone. Only cares about money," Kiera mumbled.

"Oh well uh," Barry said awkwardly, not sure what to say.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but why are you here?" She asked, uncomfortably trying to block his view of her tiny apartment.

"Oh, right." He realized he hadn't said why he was there. "It's almost six thirty. Cisco ordered pizza an hour ago and we were waiting until you got back to the lab, but when you didn't show I-uh I mean we- got worried. So I came here to see if you happened to be here."

"Six thirty? In the evening?" Kiera looked back at her small clock on the wall, not believing she had been asleep for four hours. "Wow! I guess it is! I'm sorry! I fell asleep," She said as she quickly put on her jacket and boots and grabbed her phone, before coming back to the door. "I'm ready now. Let's go."

Barry picked up Kiera and ran to S.T.A.R. Labs. To Kiera it only took a few seconds,. The next thing she knew she was standing in the main room that they used as The Flash's headquarters. She was standing before a table that had stacks of haphazardly placed pizza boxes around it; Kiera guessed Barry consumed most of them. Caitlin was working at her desk and Cisco was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey Kiera. How are you feeling?" Caitlin asked as she stood up.

"Better. The wound seems to be almost completely healed," Kiera said as she sat at the table and Barry placed a plastic plate with the two remaining pieces of pizza in front of her. She thanked him and took a bite of one piece.

"That's good to hear!" Caitlin said and smiled.

Kiera finished her dinner and Caitlin helped her get back into her suit. Kiera took a deep breath as she walked out of the side room. "Ready to do this?" She asked Barry, who was sitting at the table with his feet up. Even though his body looked relaxed, his face screamed worry and uncertainty.

Barry sat up quickly. "Are you sure you're well enough to do this?" Barry asked, still concerned.

"I'll be fine. It's not like we are going out to fight bad guys, Barry. Caitlin gave me another pain pill for what pain I still have. I want to do this, Barry. I (have) to do this."

Barry sighed and nodded, unconvincingly. "Alright, but if you feel worse-"

"You'll know. Remember?" She finished. Barry realized that was true due to their connection and he nodded. "Now get dressed, slow-poke!" Kiera teased again. It seemed Barry always waited for the last second to get dressed- that or he just liked show off the fact that he could get dressed in a couple seconds.

Barry laughed and got dressed at super speed, then picked up Kiera and ran outside. He stopped at a bench outside of the lab that overlooked the river. Kiera looked out at the dark water that flowed toward the ocean; the same water that claimed Tidal Wave's body for several days.

 _Maybe this was a bad idea. It might be too much for them to handle, being here by the water. Being so close to where he died._ Kiera said mentally as she looked in the direction of the parking lot where the battle had taken place.

 _They'll come. They need closure. If they don't come, at least we tried,_ Barry replied.

As they waited, Kiera paced back and forth on the concept pathway trying to come up with what she was going to say to the family once they arrived. Barry watched Kiera anxiously. He could feel her nervousness mix with his own. He knew how much she needed this. This wasn't just closure for the family; it was closure for her as well. She had become very close to the Meta-human right before he died. She probably knew him better than his wife did.

"What time is it, Caitlin?" Barry asked into the suit's microphone.

"Ten after seven," Caitlin said from behind her desk inside the lab. The tone in her voice clearly said she didn't think they'd show.

Barry sighed and glanced over at the lit parking lot off in the distance and then back over at Kiera.

Ten long minutes later, Caitlin couldn't believe her eyes as she watched the parking lot's security camera video feed. An outdated mini van was pulling into the parking lot.

"They're here!" She said as she watched a middle-aged woman get out and walk around the van, sliding open the backseat's door.

Kiera looked up quickly, turning her attention towards the parking lot even though she and Barry were too far away from it to see them yet.

Caitlin watched as the woman leaned into the van and helped two children get out. The woman held each child's hand as she walked down the path towards the waterfront.

Kiera took a deep breath to help her relax as she looked over at Barry. He nodded at her; to tell her he was there to help her.

The small family finally came into view and within a minute they stopped seven feet in front of the two masked heroes.

"Flash!" The little boy, who looked about five, said. He pointed at the Scarlet Speedster with his free hand and smiled widely. He was too young to understand why they were meeting him.

The mother bent over slightly and whispered to her children. The other child, a girl of about eight nodded after her mother finished. The mother let go of their hands and the girl took the little boy's hand to keep him in place. The mother stepped forward and stopped in front of The Flash. She raised her hand and Kiera knew what was coming next- the mother was going to angrily slap him. Before her hand reached The Flash's cheek it stopped. Her face went from angry to confused and she looked down at her hand as she tried to move it.

That's when Kiera realized what had happened. She had been staring at the mother's hand and unknowingly used her telekinesis to stop her hand from harming Barry. Telegirl stepped forward and gently took the mother's arm as she let her move her hand again. She looked straight into the woman's brown eyes and whispered, "Let's not start the meeting like that, Beth." Kiera knew her name from Jack's memories.

Beth looked back at Telegirl, stunned. Even though the lamppost nearby wasn't very bright, Kiera could still see the sadness and anger in her eyes. She slowly let go of the woman's hand, silently warning her not to try to slap him again. Beth slowly lowered her arm to her side and turned to face Telegirl.

"How did you-" Beth didn't finish her question, instead she just looked at the young Meta-human before her.

"We invited you here to talk about your husband. If you still want to listen, please come take a seat," Kiera said softly after a minute of silence and motioned to the bench a few feet from them. Beth stood still for a moment looking at both of them- the two that supposedly killed her husband. She looked back at her children and walked to them. She took their hands again and led them to the bench. She sat the young girl down on the bench and placed the little boy on her lap as she sat down. Telegirl and The Flash moved so they now stood before them.

The young girl stared up at the two masked people before her and crossed her arms, cutely trying to look mad at them to mirror her mother. Being so young, she didn't fully understand what was going on or where her father was, but tried to act like she did. The boy on her mother's lap had no clue what was going on. He looked up at The Flash every once in a while as he played with his mother's hair.

"First off, I want to apologize," The Flash said. "I know how hard it is to lose a parent at such a young age. I was about her age when my mother died." He looked over at the girl. Kiera could feel his sadness. She remembered briefly seeing Barry's memory of the horrible night his mother died.

"Yes. I'm sorry also. Honestly we didn't want it to end like that," Telegirl added.

"Thank you," Beth muttered, still not sure about the two people who stood in front of her. She pulled her son closer as she remembered he'd probably never know his father.

"He loved you all so much. He did what he did for all of you." Telegirl said as she looked at the children and then their mother. "At the end he lost sight of the fact that he was harming others," Telegirl added suddenly.

"How do you know that?" The woman looked up at her, curious and also upset that she would claim to know her husband's heart.

"I-" Kiera paused and tried to figure out how to tell the woman about her ability to enter people's mind. "I saw inside his mind. That's one of my abilities. I felt how strong his love was."

 _Show her,_ Barry mentally said to Kiera.

Kiera glanced over at Barry and then realized what he meant. She knelt down in front of the woman, so she was eye level with her and her son. "I can show you his last moments, if you'd like," She whispered, her eyes full of compassion and love towards the family.

The woman took a deep breath of the chilly night air as she readied herself to see what really happened to her husband. Beth nodded after a minute and Telegirl slowly reached out her hand, placing it on the woman's upper arm.

As she touched the woman, instead of focusing on entering the mind of the person she touched, she opened her mind to let the woman in. She shared the memories of Tidal Wave's regretted actions with the widow. Kiera made sure not to show Beth anything about herself or what her true identity was- just in case.

Telegirl showed her the bank scene; the first day Kiera found out she was a Meta-human. The first time she met The Flash. But also the day Jack had started his revenge. He was only trying to get money for his family to survive.

Kiera then showed Beth the next bank attack. How Tidal Wave had tried to drown The Flash, but Kiera saved him by 'Brain Blasting' Jack. She showed her the memory of how Jack had unexpectedly woke up and started the hurricane in S.T.A.R. Lab's parking lot. The same parking lot that was only a few hundred feet from the bench she was sitting on. Kiera showed Jack's wife how they had entered the hurricane and tried to stop Tidal Wave from doing any more damage. She showed her the fight between The Flash and Tidal Wave and how she had touched him, entering his mind. She shared how terrified Jack was, but how he put up the front that he was the villain. In his mind this was the only way he could of to help his family survive their money troubles.

The widow saw through Kiera's eyes. She saw the terrifying moment when Jack died. How The Flash had accidently used too much electricity and ended up killing the man. How the pain had made Jack lose control of the swirling water around them. Kiera shared his overwhelming fear and sadness as he took his last few breaths on this Earth. She shared the memory Jack had recalled right before he died. Of that beautiful day his family had a picnic in the park.

Kiera felt the emotion come to the surface as she showed the widow her promise to him right before he died and that Jack's final action alive was to help Kiera and The Flash escape the collapsing hurricane.

Kiera pulled her hand away after the memory finished. She suddenly felt the tears that were rolling down her mask and wetting her mask. She looked at the widow before her with sad eyes, knowing this was probably overwhelming for her, but what she needed. Streams of tears were flowing down Beth's eyes as she processed what really happened that day. These two heroes hadn't meant to kill him. He hadn't turned evil like the news said he was. He had justified doing all of that just to help his family survive.

"I'm so sorry." Telegirl whispered as she looked at the widow. The woman nodded, grateful to know the truth, but also overwhelmingly sad. She dug in her purse and took out a tissue packet. She pulled one out and handed it to the young woman before her. Telegirl smiled a thank you for her thoughtfulness and dried her eyes as best she could under the mask. Beth smiled slightly and took out another tissue, drying her own face.

"Mommy? Are you okay?" The little girl asked as she looked over at her mother concerned.

"Yes, honey. It's about Daddy. Daddy loved you so much," She said as she looked at her two children.

The little family hugged and the widow looked at Telegirl and The Flash with thankful eyes. They had finally told her the truth about her husband.

Kiera stood up slowly and stepped back to stand next to The Flash. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort her as best he could as they watched the family cling to each other. Beth stood up after a few minutes and set her son on the bench. She stepped forward and hugged Flash and Telegirl before they had time to react.

"Thank you," She whispered and then pulled back.

"You're welcome," Kiera whispered back. "I promised your husband I'd make sure his family was taken of. So if you need anything; anything at all. Please call S.T.A.R. Labs and they will forward the message onto me."

Honestly Kiera had no idea how she was going to help this family when she could barely take care of herself right now, but a promise was a promise and she wasn't going to break it.

The woman nodded thankfully and then walked back to her family. She took their hands and turned to walk back to their van. She stopped after a few feet and looked back at the two heroes before disappearing into the night with her children.

Kiera let out a sigh and relaxed. She had made it through the meeting; it actually wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. She was happy she was able to share the memories with his wife.

"Do you want to go out with me sometime?" Barry blurted out after a several minutes of silence.

"Huh?" Kiera asked as she was pulled out of her thoughts. His question made her head spin in confusion and nervousness. She collected her thoughts and looked over at him. "You mean like a date?"

Barry nodded awkwardly from under his mask. "Yeah, a date," He said as he awkwardly touched the back of his neck.

"I'd like that," Kiera whispered and a smile appeared on both of their faces.

Before the night got any darker or colder, two masked heroes walked back inside S.T.A.R. Labs. They both felt excited, but also nervous about what their first date would be like.

* * *

 **WRITER'S** **NOTE: I apologize for the long wait. I thought this chapter would be easier to write (and shorter), but I was wrong. I will try to get the next chapter up faster. Please bare with me. And** **I am honored by all the positive feedback! Thank you all for reviewing and telling me what you think! It means more than you know!**

 **Also, a lot of people are asking if Kiera has the ability to fly. I've thought a lot about it- even did research- and it seems she might be able to use her Telekinesis to move her own body that would sort of be like flying (more like being able to jumper higher and farther). So I still can't decide if she should figure out she can do that, so I want to leave it up to you, the readers. There is another poll up on my profile (Note: only people with Fan Fiction accounts can vote, sorry!), so please tell me what you think. Thank you all so much! (:** **  
**


	10. Chapter 10

Barry Allen's heartbeat was faster than normal as he raced down the traffic-filled streets of Central City. This time there wasn't any villain to fight. There wasn't anyone who needed to be rescued. Instead a first date that was the source of his nervousness- more specifically his first date with Kiera.

It took him two days to finally figure out the perfect place to take her on their first date. Today was the day. After a slow day at work and surprisingly no big criminal activity for The Flash to take care of, he told Kiera to be ready at seven. He had to make sure to be on time for once. He had to be on time to pick her up at her apartment and take her to the place he'd set up for their dinner.

He ducked into an alley a block from her place and walked back out, making sure no one saw him. A few minutes of walking later, Barry walked up the stairs and knocked on her door.

"Coming!" came a voice from the other side. Barry nervously tugged at his white button down shirt and dark gray suit jacket and then made sure his hair wasn't out of place from the run as he waited.

A minute later the door opened and Barry's mouth fell open slightly in surprise. Standing before him was Kiera- but she looked different than normal. Long locks of her golden hair fell around her shoulders in loose curls. She was wearing a short brightly colored purple A-line dress, simple jewelry that sparkled and four inch heeled black sandals. She was also wearing more makeup than usual, which seemed to make her blue eyes shine even brighter.

"You look amazing, Kiera!" Barry managed to say, as his cheeks reddened.

"Thank you," she replied with a blush of her own and a smile. "I'm ready to go," She added as she picked up a small bag from a table beside the door. She looked over at Barry who seemed to frozen in shock.

"What?" Barry said as he blinked, "Oh uh right!" He stood up straighter and then motioned her to lead the way. They descended the stairs and Barry opened the door for Kiera. They walked out of the shabby apartment building and ducked into the alleyway between buildings. Barry gently took a hold of Kiera, before racing down the streets toward their destination.

A few seconds later, he set her down carefully and she steadied herself, trying not to fall in her high heels. Barry kept his hand on the small of her back to help her. She looked up from her feet and realized she was on top of a tall building that looked down at the lit city below.

"Where are we?" Kiera asked nervously as she saw how high they were and how close they were from the edge. A cool breeze blew Kiera's hair back as she stared down at the city.

"On the highest skyscraper in Central City," Barry explained with a wide grin and glanced over at the nervous-looking Kiera. "Oh, are you afraid of heights? This was a bad idea-"

"A little, but no, it's fine. It's beautiful up here," Kiera said as she collected herself. She gave him a reassured smile and carefully turned around. The empty roof was decorated with a few strings of lights and scattered clear jars that held lit candles for a romantic feel. A little ways from where they stood; a blanket was laid out with a few pillows at one end and covered trays of food spread out on the other side. This time it was Kiera's turn to open her mouth in surprise.

"You did all of this?" she asked as she took in the scene.

Barry nodded, his cheeks warming again. He looked out at the city below. "You've helped keep this city safe, so I thought we could have dinner up here where you can see what you saved."

Kiera smiled and looked over at him. "It's perfect."

Barry's grin widened at her response and he led her to the blanket. They sat down and Kiera continued to look down at the bird's eye view of the city. She'd never been this far up before. Coming from a poor family, they never flew to other states or countries or lived in tall fancy apartment buildings like other families she saw. She now knew why rich people usually picked the highest apartment to live in.

The city looked stunning from up here. The buildings stood at different heights and bright lights showed off their architecture. It proved that Central City never completely goes to sleep. Advertisement signs and boards hung all around in a dazzling array of colors. From where they sat- so far up in the sky- they could barely hear the city's noises of car horns, sirens, people shouting, and music that seemed to never stop. The buildings all around them seemed to almost fade into the starry night sky. Off in the distance Kiera almost couldn't tell what were lit windows and what were actual stars.

"Would you like some?" Kiera heard a voice say. She looked to her left and suddenly remembered she was not alone. Barry sat only a few inches from her, holding up a bottle of red wine. Kiera realized what he asked her and she nodded. He poured each of them a small glass of wine and handed one glass to her. She smiled, thanking him as took it and had a sip.

"This view is truly stunning, Barry."

"It is," he smiled at her and she returned the smile before looking back out at the city below them.

"You moved here shortly before the particle accelerator explosion," Barry stated as he glanced over at her looking down at the city as if it were still new to her. He also remembered one of Kiera's memories. Their connection must have allowed Barry to see her memories as well. Barry hadn't realized he had seen them until now. The memories he saw a glimpse of her driving into the city alone and being with what looked like family before that.

Kiera was taken aback. She stared out at the city as she tried to collect her thoughts. She wondered how Barry had known that. She hadn't told any of them that. Then she realized it was because of their connection. Their bond had gotten so deep and strong that if he wanted to, he could find out everything about her.

"Yes I did," she nodded. "I, uh," Kiera paused as her eyes watered. She blinked back the tears and continued, "I came here to start over."

Barry could hear the emotion in her voice. He had brought up something sad. This wasn't the way to start a date. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." he trailed off as he slowly reached out his hand and took hers.

"It's alright. You'll figure it out soon enough," she whispered. "I grew up in Coast City. My parents-" she paused and looked down at their hands. Their touch brings Barry into her mind and as she speaks he sees her memories. "They were murdered in front of me… Two shooters came into the house and murdered them. I was young when it happened; too young to live on my own. My grandmother was the only family I had left. So I lived with her and then took care of her when she got cancer. After a long and painful fight, she passed away a little over two years ago," she paused again and took a deep breath to calm herself. "I left Coast City after that. I didn't want to be reminded of them anymore. It was too hard to see places and things that would bring bittersweet memories of when they were alive." Barry squeezed her hand gently to comfort her. "I didn't have much, so I packed up my car and just drove, not caring where I ended up. My car broke down at Central City's border sign. I saw it as a sign, so I stayed here," She looked over at Barry who had been quietly listening and watching the memories she recalled as she spoke. He gave her a compassionate smile and squeezed her hand again.

"Then the particle accelerator explosion…" he added.

Kiera nodded. "I was at a doctor's appointment of all things."

"That might explain why your abilities have to do with your mind," Barry said, as he thought about how other Meta-humans' abilities were because of similar situations when the explosion happened.

"That's why you've been helping us. To prevent what happened to your parents from happening again," he said as it dawned on him. He now felt what she felt on that first bank robbery. She thought she was going to die that day and she didn't want the innocent people inside the bank to die either. Her intense emotions were what made her abilities surface.

Kiera swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes." She hadn't really realized why either- until just now. "No one else should go through that."

Barry looked over at Kiera and saw she was struggling to hold back tears as she thought about her past. "I'm sorry for what you had to go through. But thank you for sharing," he whispered as he squeezed her hand again.

Kiera slowly looked up and met his eyes. They both felt the sadness and longing to have their family back.

Through their connection, Barry showed Kiera what happened to his mother. How young Barry had come down the stairs to find his mother surrounded by red and yellow streaks. How he was suddenly outside in the dark and tried ran back inside, but he ended up being too late to save her. And then Barry showed her how his future self had travelled back in time to try to stop his nemesis from killing his mother, but ended up using that time to talk with his mother instead. And after all of that, Barry's father was arrested for his wife's murder, even though he was innocent.

Barry blinked back tears and Kiera felt a tear fall from her eye as the world came back in focus. Kiera saw now how alike they were; Barry had also had a painful childhood. They had just shared their most painful moments with each other and their emotions surfaced and mixed together.

After a couple minutes of silence, which they used to collect themselves, Barry changed the subject. "Are you hungry? We can start eating if you'd like."

Kiera nodded and smiled. "Yes, everything smells so good."

Barry took a lid off of a plate and placed it in between them. Their first course was slices of bread with different kinds of spreads, cheese, and butter. The couple enjoyed the bread as they looked out at the darkening skyline.

"This has to be my favorite spot in all of Central City now," Kiera said and smiled over at him.

Barry grinned. "It is mine now too." Their eyes met and their gaze lasted a couple minutes. Even though they weren't using their bond, they understood what they were both thinking. Kiera broke the gaze as she awkwardly looked down to hide a blush. Barry grinned wider and tried to resist stuffing his mouth full of bread and cheese as Kiera took a sip of her wine.

After they had enough bread, Barry picked up a small bowl of salad and tossed it before putting portions onto two plates.

"You made all this just for us?" she asked as he handed her one. She looked down at the colorful plate of salad and then looked over at him, amazed.

"Yeah-" he chuckled. "Well actually Iris helped me a lot." Kiera laughed with him and took a bite of her salad. "Well you and Iris did an amazing job. Everything is delicious." Barry grinned at her compliment.

"Is this enough food for you?" Kiera asked, curiously as she remembered his fast metabolism.

"To be honest? I had a couple pizzas before I picked you up," He admitted and they laughed.

After they finished their salads, Barry presented her with some appetizers. The plate contained skewers of meats, cheese, and vegetables, Bruschetta, and cheese puff pastries. As they ate, Kiera confided in Barry about her losing her job and being worried that she wouldn't be able to keep her apartment. Barry convinced her to ask her boss for a second chance.

The night sky was black and the stars sparkled brightly by the time they were finished eating. They had been talking for nearly three hours and both knew almost everything about each other- thanks to their connection.

Barry put the empty dishes aside and stood up. "Wait just one second," he said with a grin.

"Okay?" Kiera said as she watched him curiously, wondering what he was doing. Barry walked toward the right side of the roof and plugged his phone into a small device that looked like a speaker. He typed on his phone and then set it down as slow music started to play. Kiera laughed a little nervously, knowing what he was planning. Barry walked back over to her and put his hand down. She hesitated before finally taking his hand. He helped her up and Kiera followed him as he led her towards the middle of the roof, still holding hands.

"I don't really know how to slow dance, Barry." Kiera whispered nervously as they turned towards each other. Barry placed his free hand on her waist and she placed hers on his shoulder.

"I think you do," he whispered back, indicating that if he knew how to dance she knew also. Kiera smiled and nodded as he showed her his memories of dancing.

As the music played the young couple slow danced on the roof with only the stars as witnesses. Kiera looked up into Barry's eyes and mentally said. _This has been the best date I've ever had._

Barry grinned wide. _And I know you're not lying_. He answered, having mentally seen her past dates flash before his eyes. _That's a point for me._ He added. They both laughed and continued to dance.

The romantic music, looking into each other's eyes, holding hands and being so close as they danced made them lean into each other even more and kiss. The music and the rest of the world faded away. The only things that mattered in that moment were each other. After a minute they pulled back from the kiss and Kiera rested her head on his shoulder. They swayed to the soft playing music and a cool breeze blew past them.

A while later Barry led her back to the blanket. "Want to finish with dessert?" he grinned wide and looked over at her.

She laughed a little. "More food? You and Iris were busy! But I can't say no to dessert."

Barry grinned and placed a covered tray between them. His hand hovered over the lid, teasingly hesitating. "Oh come on!" Kiera laughed as she waited to see what was underneath.

He laughed as his teasing worked. After a few seconds he finally pulled the lid off and revealed the dessert. Displayed on the plate was a large slice of cheesecake with pieces of strawberries cut into hearts surrounding the slice. Kiera's mouth opened slightly in surprise. "You know my favorite dessert," Kiera said and then realized how he knew. She smiled wide and added, "It looks amazing, Barry!"

"Yes, I do. The strawberries were Iris's idea, so you should thank her."

"I will make sure to thank her later." Kiera whispered and leaned over the dessert to kiss Barry softly.

"I'll make cheesecake more often if that's your 'thank you'," he said as he grinned wide, his eyes sparkling. Kiera' cheeks turned pink and she laughed. She picked up one of the forks and took a bite of the delicious looking dessert. A smile appeared on her lips.

"I wouldn't mind it at all. Though I doubt I'd fit in my new suit if you did," she laughed, imagining Cisco's reaction on having to make a new suit for Telegirl. Barry joined in the laughing as he too imagined it.

They enjoyed the sweet treat and after they shared the last bite, Kiera laid back on the blanket. She rested her head on a pillow and her blonde hair spread out behind her as she looked up at the stars with a smile on her face. The stars seemed closer and brighter than ever. Barry grinned down at her as he watched her explore the night sky with her eyes. He moved the empty plate of dessert and laid down next to her. They watched the stars in silence, just enjoying each other's presence and closeness. The slow music continued to play behind them as Kiera slowly slid her hand across the blanket until she found his hand. They interlinked their fingers and their smiles widened.

After what seemed like only one minute, but also an eternity they realized it was getting really late. Kiera helped him pack up, so all he had to do was come back and grab everything.

Once they finished packing, Barry took Kiera back to her apartment. A good night kiss later, Barry vanished in a streak of yellow.

.

The next day an early morning phone call woke Kiera up from her sweet dreams. She groaned into her pillow and without opening her eyes she tried to turn it off, thinking it was just her alarm clock. When it didn't stop, she groaned again and managed to see the time before she put the phone to her ear. _5:15 am_. Kiera only got to sleep for about four hours.

"Hello?" she said sleepily into the phone. It rang again and she realized she hadn't accepted the call. She tapped the screen and put it back to her ear. "Hello?" she asked again.

"Kiera?" said a woman's concerned voice. It took a few seconds for Kiera's sleepy brain to realize she knew the voice. She rubbed her face and opened her eyes again, trying to wake herself up.

"Caitlin? Is something wrong?" she replied as she sat up quickly, thinking maybe she called because another threatening Meta-human had emerged. Kiera wondered what Meta-human –or any person for that matter- would attack at such an unbelievable hour in the morning.

"Oh no. No there's nothing wrong. Did I wake you?" the young doctor asked and checked the time on her phone. Caitlin had spent the night working at the lab and didn't realize what time it was. "Oh I didn't realize it was so early. I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. I'm up now," Kiera replied as she finally succeeded at keep her eyes open. She swung her legs off the bed and into her soft slippers. "What do you need?"

"I just wanted to let you know that we will be at the airstrip today. We thought it was a good idea to continue your training. Can you be there at eight?"

"Yeah, I'll be there." Kiera said and they hung up. She looked at the time on her phone again and fell back into bed, figuring she could get at least one more hour of sleep.

.

Barry skidded to a stop on the concrete airstrip as the S.T.A.R. Lab's van pulled up; Caitlin and Cisco had arrived just as he had. The other two scientists exited the van and began setting up the abandoned airstrip to make it look more like a training area. Barry took out the tent and assembled in a blink of the eye as Cisco and Caitlin hooked up monitors on a table.

A few minutes later, Kiera walked onto the airstrip bundled up in a jacket, scarf, boots, and jeans to fight off the chilly morning air. "Are you sure it's a good idea to train in the cold?" She asked as she held her hands under her arms and stepped under the tent.

Caitlin laughed and offered her a hot cup of coffee. "This will warm you up."

"Thanks." Kiera said and wrapped her cold fingers around the hot take-out cup. She glanced over at Barry, who was devouring his large breakfast as he sat at the table beside Cisco. Kiera couldn't believe her eyes; he was wearing his usual causal clothes as if it wasn't the North Pole this morning.

 _Aren't you cold?_ She asked him mentally.

Barry looked up from stuffing his face full of a breakfast burrito. _I'm too fast to be cold._ He mentally said as he swallowed a bite of food and smiled at her.

Kiera laughed which caused Caitlin and Cisco to look over at her, wondering what she was laughing at. Kiera realized they hadn't heard their conversation and she awkwardly took a sip of her coffee.

"Dude, did you two just-?" Instead of finishing his sentence, Cisco tapped the side of his head to indicate Kiera's mental abilities.

Her cheeks which were already red from the cold, turned even redder and she nodded over the mug she held to her lips.

"Dude, that's awesome!" Cisco said as he punched Barry's arm. Barry chuckled as he finished his breakfast.

After Kiera's coffee cup was drained of every last drop of the warm liquid Caitlin picked up Telegirl's suit and held it in front of Kiera. "Ready to get started?"


	11. Chapter 11

**WRITER'S** **NOTE: I apologize for the long wait. I was very busy the last few days and so I didn't have much time to write. I hope to have the next chapter up within a few days (key word is HOPE).**

 **Anyways, enjoy! (:**

* * *

Kiera hesitated as she looked at her Telegirl suit that Caitlin was holding out in front of her. "I'd get frostbite if I just wore that out here," she finally said.

"I designed it similar to The Flash's. It's made of reinforced tri-polymer, which can protect you from intense heat or cold, so this weather is nothing," Cisco said as he flicked his wrist, dismissing the idea.

"Okay…" Kiera said slowly, still hesitant. Caitlin led her to the van so she could change.

A few minutes later, Kiera stepped out of the van in the light blue, light grey and silver suit. Her injuries were almost completely healed, thanks to Barry's blood, so she had been able to get into her suit on her own this time. She couldn't help but smile as she looked down at the suit Cisco had designed for her. She'd never get used to the feeling of being powerful and ready to take on the world whenever she put the suit on.

Caitlin handed Kiera the headpiece, so they monitor her brain activity during the training exercises, and mask. Kiera pushed her hair off her shoulders before putting the circlet-like device on her head and the mask over her eyes.

"Let's start off with something small again," Caitlin said as she let Kiera to a table a few feet from the tent. Sitting on the folding table were items of all shapes and sizes- from pencils to bottles of water.

"Telekinesis?" Kiera guessed. Caitlin nodded and Kiera planted herself in front of the table.

"Whenever you're ready try to lift one item off the table," Caitlin said as she walked back to the tent where she could monitor Kiera's vitals.

Kiera took a deep breath and closed her eyes, imagining one of the empty bottles floating in the air. After visualizing it over and over, she slowly opened her eyes and saw that the bottle was floating two feet above the table. She smiled and raised her hand. The bottle obeyed and continued to rise. Kiera rotated her hand in a circle and the bottle began to spin slowly. She lowered the bottle with her mind, so it went back to floating a couple feet above the table. She kept one hand in the direction of the bottle and slowly raised her other hand as she visualized the other bottles floating.

The three scientists unknowingly leaned forward in their chairs as they watched her attempt to focus on two different tasks at once. They watched as Kiera made the lone bottle spin while the others slowly started to rise. A smile appeared on her face as it started to work.

 _Can you focus on my voice at the same time?_ Barry asked mentally.

The Telepathic connection Barry tapped into startled Kiera, she'd been was so focused on the task that she'd forgotten they were there. The bottles fell on the table, sending other objects flying as Kiera lost focus. She gasped and stepped away from the table.

Barry stood up and frowned. "I'm sorry. I thought it might work."

"It's okay." Kiera sighed, disappointed in herself.

"You just need practice. You'll figure out how to do both," he added, feeling her disappointment.

Kiera looked up at him and nodded, not fully convinced. Cisco stood up and placed a bucket of water on the now nearly empty table, thinking maybe it was time to move onto something slightly different.

"Try picking up just a small amount of water out of the rest," Cisco said.

"Is that even possible?" Kiera asked as she stared into the bucket of clear water.

"Try it and find out," he gave her a reassuring smile and sat back down.

Kiera nodded and glanced over at Barry, wondering if he was going to try to speak with her again. Without asking her mentally, she saw him ask her with his eyes. Kiera nodded, silently telling him she wanted to try again.

She closed her eyes again and slowly lifted a hand as she imagined a droplet of water floating above the bucket. She slowly opened her eyes and what she saw made her smile. A small form of water, about the size and shape of a marble, hovered over the still water. She looked from the water to Barry, continuing to focus on the water. It took her a minute to figure out how to concentrate on holding the water up and focus on Barry's mind at the same time.

She finally nodded to him and he tried again. _I had a great time last night._ He said mentally and grinned.

A smile formed on Kiera's face. _You already know I did too._ She looked down at the water and saw it was still hovering. She had done it. She had used her Telekinetic and Telepathic abilities at the same time.

Next, they had Kiera stand behind a pile of scrap metal.

"We set up a paintball gun," Cisco said as he nodded past the pile to show that there was a gun set up about 100 yards from Kiera and the pile. "The paintball gun will act as a regular gun. Try to defend yourself by making a wall." He nodded toward the pile that stood a few feet from them.

"Just like you did at the first bank robbery," Barry added.

"What if I can't make it fast enough. Won't the paintballs hurt?" Kiera asked as she looked down at the clear plastic cover she wore over her Telegirl suit. She'd never been in a paintball fight before and had no idea what it would be like.

Cisco smiled proudly as he talked about his suit, "You'll barely feel a thing. The suit can take it."

Caitlin stepped forward and handed Kiera an earpiece. "If you want to stop, all you have to do is say so."

 _You can do it. You've done it before,_ Barry said mentally.

Kiera gave them a nervous smile. "I'll try."

The three scientists walked back to the tent to watch.

"Whenever you're ready," Caitlin said into the microphone.

Kiera took a deep breath and turned towards the pile. "Ready." She slowly raised her arms and put her palms out as she focused on the pile before her. The objects started to move and Cisco pressed a button on the remote in his hand. The paintball gun shot out its first ball and Kiera's heart rate went up. She tried to quickly form the wall, but she wasn't fast enough.

The paintball exploded on her chest in a splash of yellow. She gritted her teeth expecting pain, but none came, only a slight tap. Kiera took another deep breath and raised her arms again, trying to form the wall before another paintball could hit her. She closed her eyes and imagined the wall forming over and over in her mind. After a few seconds she slowly opened her eyes and saw the wall was forming before her.

Purple paint splattered on her hip. She took another deep breath and tried to imagine the pieces of metal moving faster to form the barricade. They started to obey and thirty seconds later the metal wall was standing between Kiera and the paintball gun. She smiled, again succeeding.

"Well done, Kiera. This time try to go even faster. In a fight you won't have much time at all to defend yourself," Caitlin said.

Kiera nodded over towards the scientists who sat a ways away on her right. She lowered her hands and the wall crumbled, returning to a pile. She focused on the metal and raised her hands faster this time. She imagined the wall in front of her and the metal scraps began to move. This time they flew threw the air, trying to form what she imagined.

Barry leaned forward in his chair as he watched. Something felt wrong. He couldn't figure out what it was until he saw a piece of metal hit another piece and propel towards Kiera in slow motion. Before he could think he was running towards the scene in a blur of yellow.

The next thing Kiera knew, she was laying on her back looking up at Barry. She lifted her head and looked around. She was lying on the concrete, about fifty feet from the pile of metal and the tent.

"What just happened?" She asked as she looked up at Barry again. His blue eyes looked down at her, making sure she was okay. Their eyes met and they stayed still for a minute.

"What? Oh," he muttered as he realized they were still on the floor. He carefully stood up and helped her up. "I saw a piece of metal fly towards you."

"Oh, uh, well thanks," she whispered, still processing what happened. Barry nodded his head and brought her back to the pile. The pieces of metal were scattered around, having fallen when Kiera's concentration broke. "Well that didn't go as planned," she said as she looked around.

"I guess we'll have to work on that," Cisco said as he walked over to them.

Kiera sighed, realizing she still had a lot of work to do if she was going to have complete control over her abilities. She had made it look so easy at the bank, but now that she wanted to repeat what she did it didn't work.

"Let's try something else," Cisco added as he held up a small round gadget. "This might be easier to control." They all looked at the object he held in his hand.

"What is it?" Kiera asked, curious.

"A collapsible shield prototype that I've been working on. Ever since we found The Reverse Flash's ring-" he stopped, realizing she had no idea what he was talking about. "Right. All you have to do is press this button-" he returned his focus to the shield. Cisco pointed to a small black button on one side of the device, then he pressed it and in the blink of an eye the gadget expanded until he was holding a clear shield that measured about four feet long. "-and you're ready."

Kiera's mouth opened slightly as she looked at the beautifully made shield. It was simple, only a large slightly curved clear oval with a silver trim, but it was still beautiful. "You made this? For me?" Kiera asked as she slowly ran her hand over the smooth surface of the shield.

Cisco nodded. "It's made to withstand almost anything."

Kiera noticed how Cisco was holding it. "There's no handle. How do I hold it?"

"Telekinesis. You can move this with your mind while in battle to keep your enemy out of arms length or defect a bullet at any angle."

Kiera looked hesitant. She glanced over at the discarded metal spread out on the airstrip. What if she couldn't control it? What if she couldn't make it move fast enough to defend herself? It could turn into a disaster.

"And if you press the button again-" Cisco demonstrated by pushing the small black button that was now on the inside of the shield's top border. The shield turned back into the small silver device. "-it will turn back. Then you can put it in your suit's pocket." He handed it to her. "Try it."

Kiera took it slowly and pressed the button again, activating the shield. She held the shield out and focused on making it float above her hand. Her new gadget obeyed and Cisco, Caitlin and Barry stood back so she could get a feel for it.

Kiera held out her palm towards the floating shield as she imagined it spinning around her and a few seconds later it did just that. At her command the shield started to move through the air, slicing through the air.

After a few minutes, she brought it back to her and pressed the button. It turned back into the silver device in her hand.

"What to test it out against the gun?" Barry asked as he nodded towards the paintball gun that was still set up across the airstrip.

Kiera looked over at the gun and then at shield device. "I guess I could try." She nodded and walked towards a small clearing among the scraps of metal. She looked back at the scientists, who were back under the tent and nodded again, signaling she was ready. Cisco pressed a button a remote and the paintball gun started to work again. Kiera quickly pressed the button on her shield and it opened up in her hand. She used her Telekinesis to make the shield float in front of her. The gun shot out a paintball and Kiera tried to move the shield to defend herself. She misjudged and the paintball coated her abdomen in red paint. She clenched her jaw and tried again. This time she was successful. Her shield took the hit and it was splattered in green paint. She continued to defend herself successfully until Cisco turned off the gun.

"Let's try something more challenging," Cisco said with a grin. He picked up a joystick remote control and pressed a button. A drone flew out of the back of the van and hovered in front of the tent.

"What are you doing?" Barry asked as he watched the drone nervously. He remembered his own training sessions where Cisco used a drone to fire lasers at him as he ran.

"Relax, dude! I rigged it to shoot paintballs," Cisco said. "Ready, Keira?"

Kiera watched the drone, nervously. "Ready," she and took a deep breath as turned to face the drone. She focused on the shield, making it move in front of her.

The drone beeped and a paintball flew out, which Kiera easily deflected with the shield. The drone moved through the air and spit out another paintball. Kiera turned again to face it as she moved the shield to block the attack. With every shot, Cisco made the drone move faster around Kiera. She got hit a few times, but managed to defend herself most of the time.

After about fifteen minutes, Cisco made the drone land on a table. Kiera pressed the button on the shield and carried it back to the tent. Caitlin handed her a bottle of water, which she drank quickly.

"Great job," Barry said with a smile. "You're improving." Kiera returned the smile as she set the empty bottle down and took a seat in an empty chair, exhausted. "I think it's time to take a break," he added, feeling her exhaustion.

"It is time for lunch," Caitlin said as she looked at her computer.

Barry sped off to get them lunch from Big Belly Burger. After they finished eating, Kiera returned to training. She tried to use her Telekinesis to slowly move the scraps of metal back into a pile and then try to form a wall again, but this time she went slower. She repeated the exercise over and over until she got it down, then she started to go faster and faster every time. After a couple hours, she was finally able to form a wall in under thirty seconds.

After a short break, Barry had an idea for an exercise. "We learned that this mental connection can help us see through each other's eyes. I think we should practice using that ability. I learned how to do use it against Nightsense, but Kiera, you haven't tried it yet."

"We can try," Kiera said after she finished drinking another bottle of water. Barry stood up and Kiera grabbed her scarf to use as a blindfold before she followed.

They walked out from under the tent stopped once they were about twenty feet from it. Kiera turned her back to Barry and put the scarf over her mask, motioning for his help. He took the ends of her scarf and tied it around her head, making sure it wasn't too loose that it wouldn't fall down, but also that it wasn't too tight.

 _I'll be a little ways away. You can do this,_ Barry said mentally and ran back to stand in front of the tent.

"Whenever you're ready I'll fly the drone back out. Try to move the shield around yourself to defect the attacks," Cisco said into the microphone that wirelessly connected to Kiera's earpiece. She nodded her head at his instructions and then focused on Barry's mind. She imagined looking through his eyes and after a few seconds she could see. She saw herself standing several feet away wearing a paint splattered plastic poncho over her Telegirl suit. She had her hand dig out her compacted shield. Kiera pushed the button and threw it in the air as gadget turned into the clear shield. Looking through Barry's eyes, she used her Telekinesis to make the shield hover in front of her body.

"Ready," she said to Cisco.

The drone buzzed to life and flew past Barry as it made it's way to Kiera's body. She moved the shield to block the first shot. The paintball splattered in dark shade of blue on her arm. Kiera had misjudged where she needed the shield to be. This was harder than she thought it would be.

She moved the shield again, trying to defend against the drone's attacks. But as minute after minute passed, her protective plastic cover became more and more colorful.

 _Try again. You're getting a hang of it_ , Barry said mentally.

Kiera sighed in disbelief, but then Barry's encouraging words made her want to try harder. She spun the shield around her as the drone fired another shot. The paintball grazed the corner of her shield, but then hit her leg.

Kiera's body was aching from the repeated hits. She felt like giving up. She wasn't able to get a hang of this shared senses trick as quickly as Barry had.

 _Keep trying,_ Barry said again.

 _This is useless. I can't do it_ , Keira replied.

 _You can and you will. Keep trying._

Kiera sighed again and watched the scene in front of Barry. The drone flew around her body, ready to fire another shot. She didn't want to fail in front of Barry. She made the shield move through the air and it floated between her and the drone.

It seemed like hours passed while she waited for the next paintball, she realized that was because of Barry's ability to see in slow motion. After the drone finally spit out a paintball, it took Kiera a few seconds to realize what happened. She looked for the new splatter of paint on her body, but couldn't see any. She then noticed a neon green splotch on her shield; it was not there a few seconds ago. She had finally succeeded in defending herself while watching through Barry's eyes.

 _See? I told you,_ Barry said mentally as he grinned.

Kiera saw herself smile. "Keep 'em coming, Cisco!" she said out loud and moved the shield to follow the drone's movements.

Paintball after paintball splattered against the shield as the drone buzzed around her body. She pulled off the scarf and focused on returning her sight to her own eyes. She tried to make the change as fast as she could, but she wasn't fast enough. The distraction caused the shield to drop to the floor and a paintball hit her chest. She sighed and bent over to pick up the fallen shield.

"I think that's enough for today," Barry said as he looked back at Cisco. The mechanical engineer nodded in response and flew the drone back to the table. Barry looked back at Kiera, who was staring down at paint-coated shield in her hand. Cisco and Caitlin started to pack up as Barry walked over to Kiera.

"You did good, Kiera," he whispered as he reached her.

"But not good enough. If they were real bullets I'd be dead many times over," she mumbled, not looking up.

"That's why we train." Barry placed his hand on her shoulder. "Considering you just found you were a Meta-human two weeks ago and you've already helped take down two villains, I'd say you're doing very well," he added and smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

Kiera slowly looked up at him and a small smile formed on her face. They stared into each other's eyes for a couple minutes, not saying anything, but still understanding what each other wanted to say.

Barry broke the silence. "Let's go help clean up."

Kiera nodded and they headed back the tent.

Cisco helped her clean off the shield and then she used her Telekinesis to move the scraps of metal back into a pile. The four of them packed the van and piled into it. After a few minutes, they were back at S.T.A.R. Labs and before Kiera could change out of her Telegirl suit, an alarm sounded. Cisco ran to the lab's computer to see what it was.

"There's a shooting at The William Parks Law Firm on Terrace Street! Reports from inside say there are two shooters."

Barry changed into his Flash suit at super speed and stood at the doorway. He looked back at Kiera. "This would be good practice for Telegirl," he said and grinned. "You coming?"

Kiera put her mask back on, checked to make sure her new shield was in her suit's pocket and then nodded. She ran to Barry and he gently took a hold of her before running out of the lab and towards the crime scene.

The Flash and Telegirl arrived a few seconds later. They only had a second to take in everything. The lobby of the law firm building was filled with screams and gunfire as innocent men and woman hid behind desks, chairs and pillars trying to get away from the two armed men. The shooters wore ski masks, bulletproof vests, black pants, boots and had extra guns strapped to their backs. Kiera noticed that one of the men was slightly taller and more muscular than the other.

 _You can do this, Kiera,_ Barry said mentally.

 _By myself?_ Kiera asked, as she looked at Barry, terror in her eyes.

 _I'll be here if you need me, but this is good practice._ Barry nodded.

Kiera took a deep breath and looked back at the scene. She focused on the men's assault rifles and flicked her hand to the right. The guns flew out of their hands and hit a wall to their left. The two men looked over at the two heroes, stunned before they reached for their spare guns and aimed them at them. Kiera took out her shield and pressed the button. She used her telekinesis to make the shield float just above the ground in front of her, ready to shield them. The Flash stepped behind her as bullets started flying towards them. Through the clear shield they saw the shooters fire at them. Kiera flicked her hand and their guns went flying again.

Before Kiera could react, the larger man whipped out a knife from his pocket and grabbed the closest person hiding behind a desk. He put the knife to the terrified woman's neck and tears rolled down her face. Kiera knew she wouldn't be able to send the knife flying without risking it slicing through the woman's neck.

"Try that again and she dies!" the man shouted.

Telegirl glanced back at The Flash and then back at the men. _Get them of here. I'll deal with the shooters_ , Kiera mentally told Barry as she tried to figure out what to do.

Barry nodded under his mask and in a streak of yellow lightning he started to take the men and women from the building. Kiera pressed the button on her shield and slid the silver device back into her pocket. She reached out her hands towards the two shooters and 'Brain Blasted' them. Having to focus on two minds at once made the effect weak, but it was enough to make them both cringe and the larger man let go of the woman. The Flash grabbed the woman and took her outside to the others, before the man could react.

"Don't even think about it!" Kiera said as the men looked back up and tried to run towards her. She 'Brain Blasted" them again, causing the shooters to crumble to the floor and hold their pounding heads.

 _The police have arrived. Time to go,_ Barry said to Kiera as he returned.

"Don't even think about getting back up!" she shouted at them as The Flash returned to her side. The men groaned in response.

Barry and Kiera heard the building's front doors swing open. They turned and saw armed police walk in, ready to take down the shooters. They lowered their guns when they saw The Flash and Telegirl standing before them.

"They're all yours, officers!" The Flash said as he nodded towards the two shooters that were lying on the floor. He then picked up Telegirl and ran back to S.T.A.R. Labs.

A few seconds later, Kiera and Barry stood in front of the large desk where Cisco and Caitlin sat. Barry pushed his mask off and grinned widely.

"That was epic!" Cisco said as he high-fived him.

"Telegirl did most of the work," Barry responded as he smiled at her.

She smiled and pulled off her mask. "The shield helped a lot. Thank you, Cisco," she said as she sat in a nearby chair and took off the brain activity circlet off her head. Cisco's puffed up his chest and grinned proudly in response.

The two heroes changed out of their suits and Kiera realized how late it was. She said good night and headed home. After the taxi dropped her off, she headed up to her apartment and took a long hot shower to soothe her aching body. After the shower she got in bed and fell asleep quickly.

* * *

The next day she took Barry's advice and went back to grocery store where she used to work. After half an hour of basically begging the boss to let her have a second chance, he finally gave in. He threatened to fire her if she disappeared again without telling him. Kiera promised it wouldn't happen again and changed into the store's uniform.

The day went by slowly for Kiera. She packed bag after bag at the checkout counters and then a few hours after lunch, Kiera was walking past the front entrance when something caught her eye. She looked out the glass doors and saw a slightly overweight man ripping a purse from an old woman's arm before taking off down the sidewalk. Without thinking Kiera ran towards the sliding doors to chase after the thief.

The boss happened to see her and shouted after her, "Where do you think you're going?! Get back here or you're fired!"

Kiera didn't stop; instead she turned and ran after the fleeing thief. She realized she couldn't use her powers out in the open or everyone would know who she was, so she ducked into an alley and pulls off her uniform pants and shirt to reveal her Telegirl suit underneath. Luckily while Kiera was getting dressed that morning she had the idea of wearing it under her clothing, just in case something happened.

It took Kiera only a few seconds to turn into Telegirl. She put on her mask as she ran out of the alley and continued down the sidewalk in the direction the man had gone.

She caught sight of the thief and ran faster. The man was already out of breath he darted through the crowd of people walking down the sidewalk. Kiera apologized as she pushed her way through the crowd, trying to catch up with the thief.

The man looked back and noticed she was catching him. He quickly turned a corner, hoping to lose her. A few seconds later Telegirl rounded the corner and looked for the thief; she finally saw him crossing the street and ran after him.

"Stop!" She screamed as he made it to the other side of the street.

He stops and looks back at her. "Why? What will you do to me? Make a ceiling collapse on me?" He shouts at her, referencing to her fight with Nightsense that ended when she made the police office's ceiling fall on the villain.

"If you don't stop running I just might!" She shouted over the traffic. She ran out into the street and a loud honk made her look to her left. A large semi truck was speeding toward her and didn't have time to stop. Kiera's heart skipped a beat and she held out her hand, stopping the truck in its tracks with her Telekinesis. Kiera looked back at the thief who was standing on the other side of the road, his mouth open in astonishment. Their eyes met and the man took off down the sidewalk, trying to get away.

Telegirl ran after him, quickly gaining ground. She saw a box nearby and used her Telekinetic abilities to make it slide out in front of the man. The thief groaned as he tripped over the box and fell on the sidewalk.

Telegirl ran up to the man as he tried to get up. "That's what you get for trying to steal an old woman's purse!" she said as she reached him. The man, still trying to catch his breath from the run, tried to get up, but Telegirl pushed him down, so he was now lying on his stomach on the sidewalk.

Kiera heard clapping and looked up as she kneeled down beside the thief and pinned his hands behind his back. For the first time, she notices a crowd was gathering around her. Most wer clapping while a few others held their phones up and recorded the scene.

"Can someone please call the cops?" she asked and looked down at the thief's hands. "May I borrow your jacket, sir?" She asked a middle-aged man who was carrying a windbreaker on his arm. The man nodded and handed her his jacket. Telegirl used the jacket to tie the thief's arms tightly behind his back. She picked up the fallen purse and then pulled him up to his feet, letting the bystanders take a few pictures while they waited for the police.

Once the police finally arrived, she handed the thief and the purse over to them. The growing crowd cheers and Telegirl ran off back to her job. Kiera ducked back into the alley and put her discarded uniform back on. She tucked her mask away and walked into the grocery store. She winced when she saw her boss standing before her with his arms folded across his chest and his eyes glaring at her.

"Where did you go, Ms. Taylor?" he asked as he stepped forward.

"I uh," Kiera knew she couldn't tell him the truth of what just happened. "I uh tried to catch a thief, but he got away," she mumbled.

"Tried to catch a thief? You?" he looked at her in disbelief and almost laughed at the thought of her- a skinny young woman, whom he figured never even ran before- trying to catch a thief. He cleared his throat and glared at her again. "That's not your job! I told you if you disappeared again, I'd fire you! Did you think about that before you tried to become a hero?"

Kiera's heart sank and she shook her head. She knew what was coming. "I'm fired, I know," she mumbled under breath.

"That's right, Ms. Taylor! You're fired!" He said louder than realized there were paying customers around. He cleared his throat again and lowered his voice. "You couldn't even get through one more day!"

Kiera sighed and walked to the back of the store and changed out of her uniform before leaving. She was walking down the sidewalk she had ran down a few moments before when her phone rang. She dug it out of her purse and looked at the screen.

"Hello?" she said as she answered the phone.

"Kiera? Have you talked to Barry today?" Caitlin's voice asked.

"Barry? No, why?"

"He's not answering his cell. Detective Joe says he's not at the precinct or at their house. Nobody's seen or heard from him today. And his suit is gone."

"Is that normal?" Kiera asked, even though she could guess the answer from Caitlin's nervous voice.

"No."

"I'll be right there. We'll find him, Caitlin," Kiera said and ended the call.

* * *

 **WRITER'S** **NOTE: Also I have to give credit to my good friend highlander348. She helped me a lot on this chapter. (: Thank you so much!**

 **As always please review. It means so much to me that you guys have been reviewing. This story wouldn't have gotten this far without you guys!**


	12. Chapter 12

**WRITER'S NOTE: I just wanted to apologize. I've been putting "ADMIN NOTE" instead of "WRITER'S NOTE". My bad. I'm so used to** **"ADMIN NOTE", because I have a Facebook page. I went back and corrected all of them.**

* * *

A panic-stricken Kiera ran into Flash's headquarters as the sun was setting. She saw Caitlin pacing before the desk, Cisco sitting at a computer typing frantically, and Detective Joe West and his daughter Iris standing nearby. Their faces showed what Kiera felt- fear.

What happened to Barry? Where was he? He could be in danger at this very moment and they had no clue where he was.

"Kiera!" Caitlin said as she rushed to her. "Do you sense anything? Barry said your connection allows you to sense when the other is in trouble. Is he is trouble?"

Kiera sat down in a nearby chair as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes; frantically trying to read any signals that meant Barry was in danger. After a couple minutes of trying, she shook her head. "I don't feel anything. I haven't all day. I'm sorry."

"There has to be a way to find him," Joe said.

"We tried using the suit's tracking feature, but it's been disabled somehow. And we've tried hacking into the FBI's facial recognition software to use cameras around Central City to find Barry's face. It couldn't find him either," Caitlin said with a frown. She glanced over at Cisco. His eyes were wide as he stared off in space. It looked like he had just inhaled, but hadn't exhaled yet.

"Cisco?" Joe asked as he looked at the young scientist. "Are you okay?"

Cisco didn't move, or even blink for a minute. Then his hands started to shake and he gasped. He looked around as if he didn't realize where he was.

"A vibe. I just had a vibe," he managed as he caught his breath and started to relax.

"What did you see?" Iris asked as they all stepped towards him.

"I saw Barry dressed in his suit. He was-" Cisco paused, confusion written on his face. "He was robbing a store with a woman."

"What? No. No! That's impossible. Barry wouldn't do that. He's a hero, not a thief!" Kiera said loudly.

"There must be a reasonable explanation," Caitlin stated, trying to remain calm. "Can you try to use your connection to see what he sees?" she asked as she turned to Kiera.

"I can try," Kiera said and nodded. She closed her eyes and focused on Barry. She thought about seeing through his eyes. It took longer than usual, as if she was fighting to enter his mind. Kiera felt a little dizzy by the time it finally worked. She was seeing what Barry was seeing. He was in a dimly lit room. There were lit glass counters containing sparkling jewelry all around him.

"He's in a jewelry store," Kiera said to the team. "I can't tell which one. It's dark."

Through Barry's eyes, Kiera saw a form walking towards him as he picked up a necklace from a broken counter in front of him. Kiera's heart raced, expecting this person to attack, but then his eyes focused on the person and she realized it was a woman who looked to be in her late twenties. She her smile displayed her greed and excitement. She was wearing a skin-tight black and red leather body suit that showed off her slender figure and displayed her cleavage. Her bright green eyes sparkled from behind a small black eye mask that concealed her identity and her curled black hair had deep red highlights. Barry didn't move away from the woman or try to fight her, instead he placed a diamond necklace with a large ruby in the center around her neck and she smiled wider.

Kiera's unknowingly formed fists. Who was this woman? What had she done to Barry? Why was he stealing jewelry for her?

"What is it?" Caitlin asked Kiera as she watched her tense up.

Caitlin's voice snapped her back to reality. She blinked and her vision returned to her own eyes.

"I saw the woman. She's in a leather suit. It looks like they are robbing the store together," Kiera said as she shook her head. Why would Barry rob a store? And why did he trust this woman?

"Do you know where?" Joe asked.

Kiera closed her eyes again and tried to focus on Barry again. "He's still in the city," she said and tried again. "I can't pinpoint the location for some reason. It's like I'm being blocked." Kiera said as she opened her eyes, looking as confused as the others in the room. Cisco pointed to his top lip as he looked at Kiera, trying to tell her something. Kiera looked confused and then put her finger to her top lip. She felt a warm liquid and as she pulled her finger away, she saw it was blood. All of her efforts to try to find Barry had affected her.

"I'll keep trying," Kiera said, not wanting to give up so easily. She closed her eyes again and tried over and over to locate Barry.

An alarm sounded a few minutes later and Cisco looked up at the screen. "We might have just caught a break!" he said as he read what was on the monitor before him. "A jewelry store robbery in progress at Luxury Diamonds Jewelry Store on 21st street."

Kiera stood up and pulled off her clothes again to reveal her Telegirl suit. At first, Cisco's jaw dropped and he stood up, not sure why she was taking her clothes off in front of all of them- though he wasn't complaining. "Uh you're doing that out here?" He asked, his voice cracking as he asked. Then they saw the grey, blue and silver suit and he closed his mouth. "Right, you had your suit on underneath. Smart." He sat back down awkwardly and returned his gaze to the computer before him.

"Can I take the van again?" Kiera asked as she put the mask on, referring to the time when she hotwired the S.T.A.R. Lab's van in order to get to the precinct to save The Flash from Nightsense.

Caitlin walked over and handed her the brain activity-monitoring circlet. "Sure," she said as she nodded.

"I'll drive you," Joe volunteered and Cisco threw him the keys.

"Thank you," Kiera said as she followed the detective out of the lab.

A few minutes later, the van pulled up along in front of the jewelry store. Before it could stop, Telegirl hopped out and ran into the store. Joe followed her a few seconds later.

Telegirl stopped in her tracks as she saw the two thieves.

The Flash stood before the black and red woman that Kiera saw earlier. They did not seem to be in a rush to leave with their stolen goods, like most thieves who don't want to get caught.

"You're under arrest! Hands behind your head!" Joe said as he aimed his gun at the woman. "Move away, Flash!"

The woman turned towards them and smirked, speaking in a sultry voice. "Well well, look who's here, Flashie, your little sidekick. And she brought the police," she added as she turned her gaze towards Joe, then back to Telegirl. "I saw you on the news. What's your name again? Telephone? Tele-something right?"

"Telegirl," Kiera spat out, starting to get annoyed by this villainous woman. She glanced over at The Flash, who was standing next to the woman and hadn't spoken a word. She noticed he looked at them with a blank expression, as if he didn't recognize Joe or Kiera.

"Ah, Telegirl. That's right." The woman ran her finger over the diamond and ruby necklace she wore, the same one Kiera saw Barry put around her neck earlier.

"Hands behind your head!" Joe repeated and glanced over at Kiera, her confused face mirroring his own.

"Oh, no. No. That won't happen. You see, officer, I have a life to live. And it's not going to be in jail," the red and black woman said before turning back to The Flash.

"Flashie, please show this two out. We need to get on our way now," she said in a voice as smooth as velvet as she looked into The Flash's eyes. Kiera watched confused. Why would Barry listen to this woman?

The Flash nodded his head at the woman and in a blink of an eye Kiera and Joe found themselves outside. They had heard the woman laugh- a laugh that almost sounded evil- as they were taken outside. Joe stepped forward and looked down over the edge.

"That's not good," he mumbled. Kiera followed and looked down also. Far below Joe and Kiera, cars drove up and down the street. They were on top of the building. Kiera turned and scanned the roof for a door that led down off the roof. Finally spotting what she was looking for, she ran towards it.

Kiera pulled on the door's handle, but the door didn't budge. "It's locked from the inside," she said as she tried to wiggle the handle. Joe holstered his gun and frowned. "Guys, is there any other way down?" she asked into the microphone.

"That's the only way… unless you want to jump," Cisco said and received a glare from Caitlin. "Actually!" he leaned forward in his chair as a thought came to him.

"What?" Caitlin asked in a tone that said she knew she'd regret asking later.

"I've been doing research and-" He paused. "I think Kiera could use her Telekinesis to make herself fly."

"What?" Kiera asked, stunned.

"What kind of research? Science Fiction movies?" Caitlin muttered as she glared at him.

"No!" Cisco said quickly, acting shocked that Caitlin would even think that.

"Well a guess isn't good enough," Kiera said as she returned to the edge of the roof and looked down at the street below. She could fall to her death and be no more than a splat on the road. Yes, they needed to get back down there to stop the woman and get The Flash back, but this was extreme!

"It should work. It _will_ work!" Cisco insisted.

"It's too risky…" Caitlin said.

"What are they saying?" Joe asked as he watched Kiera's scared reaction.

"Cisco thinks I can use my Telekinesis to fly down there," she said as she stared down the side of the building.

"Fly?"

"Well actually it's not really flying. Not like using wings like Hawkgirl, but more like you can make your self float and move through the air. " Cisco explained to Kiera.

"Who's Hawkgirl?" she asked, confused.

"Never mind," Cisco mumbled.

"Kiera this is too risky. We'll find another way to get you down," Caitlin said into the microphone.

"Barry's down there. Who knows what that woman will make him do next," Kiera said and inhaled deeply to calm herself as she tried to convince herself it would work. "I have to try."

"What? No! Bad idea!" Joe shouted and looked at her as if she was crazy. "This has to be the stupidest idea Cisco has ever had!"

"Hey!" Cisco said offended, even though Joe couldn't hear him.

"If I don't make it, tell Barry I had a great time the other night," Kiera muttered before inhaling again and stepping up onto the roof's short parapet wall.

"We can find another way!" Caitlin said into the microphone, trying to convince Kiera not to jump.

Joe stepped forward and reached out to try to pull Kiera back, but she jumped feet first before he could grab a hold of her arm.

Kiera tried to remain calm as she fell. She tried to not focus on the fast approaching street or the wind blowing back her hair, but instead on trying to make her self float in midair. She closed her eyes tight and focused as hard as she could on stopping her falling body.

Thirty seconds passed. Kiera thought she would have hit the ground by now. She regained her senses and realized there wasn't any more wind. Did she hit the ground and paralyze herself? Was that why she couldn't feel anything? Or maybe she was dead?

Kiera slowly opened her eyes. Everything slowly started to come into focus. She saw herself in a mirror. No, not a mirror, it was dark windows on the side of a building standing before her. She looked at her feet in the reflection. They weren't touching anything. She was floating. She slowly looked down at her feet and then past them. She was floating about ten feet from the ground. She exhaled quickly, not realizing she had been holding her breath. Kiera had succeeded at making her self float. She remembered why she had jumped off in the first place and quickly made her body float down to the ground.

Telegirl ran back into the jewelry store and looked around for the woman and The Flash, but the shop was empty and all the jewelry was gone.

Kiera sighed. "They're gone," she said into the suit. Kiera felt disappointment in her self for not being able to catch them. What if she had gotten there sooner? Maybe she could have caught them. Maybe she could have saved Barry.

* * *

Kiera took off her mask as she entered the lab's main room. After arriving too late back at the jewelry store she went up the building's stairs and helped Joe off the roof.

Kiera placed the circlet on the table and frowned. Hundreds of questions ran over and over in her head. Some of them being:

 _Who was this woman in red and black?_

 _How did she get to Barry?_

 _How did she control him like that?_

 _Where was he now?_

 _What was she going to do to him now?_

Caitlin frowned as she saw Kiera' s expression. "It wasn't your fault," the young doctor whispered. "We will find them. We will get Barry back."

Kiera looked up slowly and Caitlin saw the hurt and confusion in her eyes. Kiera couldn't get over how Barry had acted around that woman. "He didn't even remember us," she muttered.

"Dude! I think it's mind control!" Cisco said as he watched the footage again from Kiera's suit cam and the store's security cameras.

"Mind control?" Kiera asked curiously as the two women walked over to watch also.

Joe was on the phone with his boss and ended the call when he heard Cisco's guess. He walked back in and stood behind the women, curious as well.

"Yes, watch when she looks at Barry," Cisco said as he rewound the recordings. He pressed play and zoomed in on the woman's and Barry's faces. When the woman turned to Barry and told him what to do, they looked at low-resolution footage of Barry's eyes. It lasted only a second, but Kiera could have sworn his eyes turned completely white. Kiera felt her stomach do a somersault and her heart pound in her chest. This woman was controlling everything Barry did. Who knows what she would do next.

Kiera stepped back, stunned, and bumped into Joe. "Sorry, I…" she couldn't even form a sentence. Her mind was jumbled. She stepped around the detective and then ran out of the room before tears could come to her eyes.

Nearly blinded by her tears, Kiera ran as best she could until she made it out into the night air. She managed to make it to the bench overlooking the river before her legs gave out from under her. She pulled herself onto the bench and looked out at the city across the dark water.

This might have seemed like an overreaction for most people, but to Kiera it felt like she was totally alone again. The same feeling she felt on the day her parents died and then the day her grandmother died. She was just starting to feel like someone actually cared for her again, but now Barry was who knows where doing who knows what and not being able to think for him self. She was utterly alone again. What if they never find him? And he's stuck doing that woman's bidding until she's done with him?

Out of desperation and fear, Kiera tried to reach Barry's mind again. She knew it had a very slim chance of working, but she had to try. She just wanted to talk to him.

 _Barry? Where are you? I'll find you. I promise,_ she said mentally.

For a few brief seconds, Kiera felt a change. She felt relief. She felt love. She felt _him_.

 _Barry? Is that you? Can you hear me?_ she asked again, trying to find him mentally.

 _Kiera?_ came an answer. It was very faint, but Kiera knew she hadn't imagined it. Suddenly she felt as if she was yanked away. She felt alone again. He was gone again. But not before she got a reading on where he was and that he was scared.

Kiera jumped up from the bench and ran back into S.T.A.R. Labs. Once she reached the room, she grabbed onto the wall's edge and tried to catch her breath.

"I know where he is! I know where Barry is!"

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE: There you have it! Kiera learned she can make her self fly/float! You guys voted for it, so I made it happen. (: Kiera/Telegirl's abilities are stronger when she's in the heat of the moment. Her intense emotions help her abilities emerge.**

 **The moment when Kiera enter's Barry's mind and looks through his eyes is sort of inspired by a new show called "Stitchers" that I've been watching. If any of you watch it, you'll see how similar it is to what they do in the show.**

 **And I've been thinking about a Meta-human name for this Mind-controlling woman. What do you guys think of "Ruby Siren"?  
If any of you have anything better, please put the name ideas in your review or PM me. Thanks so much! (:**

 **I have to thank you all for consistently reviewing! You guys are awesome! Your reviews help keep my ideas flowing and keep the Writer's Block at bay! (: So please keep reviewing. (: Your feedback is amazing!**


	13. Chapter 13

Kiera anxiously tapped her fingers in a rhythm on the car's passenger door as she stared out the front window. Thanks to Joe's police siren, they were speeding down the street, dodging cars and making high-speed turns on their way to save The Flash.

After Kiera had briefly sensed Barry, she ran into the lab and told the team the good news- Kiera knew where Barry was due to their mental connection. The address Kiera sensed was The Central City Museum. And the main attraction this month happened to be "The Carmen Lúcia Ruby". The website said "Now showing! The spectacular 23.1-carat Burmese ruby set in a platinum ring with beautiful diamonds! Come see for yourself! This cherished ring will only be here for a short time before it returns to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History!"

It made sense. The woman seemed to love expensive jewelry, especially rubies, so this ring would be at the top of her list. And now Joe, Kiera, Caitlin and Cisco had to stop her and get Barry back.

The Museum would be closing in three minutes and that was mostly likely when the woman would step into action and have The Flash steal the artifact. All Detective West and Telegirl had to do was get there before it closed and find them, before they could do anything.

Joe slammed on the brakes and they jumped out of the car, climbing the stairs two by two before running inside. The museum seemed quiet; only a few visitors walked around the exhibits. Two security guards stood right inside the front doors as they walked in. The guards tried to stop them from entering as the museum was closing shorty. Joe quietly let them know what was going on, in as few words as he could and they let them through.

Over the loud speakers a man's voice stated that the museum was closing in one minute. Joe and Kiera looked at each other and silently signaled which way they'd go. Telegirl went left and the detective went right. Before they could get far, a streak of yellow went across the elevated walkway that collected two of the second floor's rooms.

"Joe!" Telegirl shouted to let him know The Flash and the woman were here.

Without hesitation, Kiera used her Telekinesis to jump up onto the walkway to pursuit. She knew she couldn't lose Barry again.

 _Barry? Can you hear me?_ Kiera tried to reach out to Barry mentally.

The lightning stopped and The Flash and the woman, dressed in the same skin tight suit and heels, stood on the other side of the walkway. The woman looked confused, not expecting the sudden stop. Kiera focused on The Flash. She saw his eyes under the red mask. She could suddenly feel his emotions; he was scared and confused. He had no idea what was going on or where he was. Their connection was working again.

 _Barry. You can fight this. She does not control you. You are The Flash. You fight evil, not give into it,_ Kiera said, trying to get through to him. Trying to break her hold on him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but the woman turned and grabbed his face between her hands before he could say anything. She looked deep into his eyes and whispered something that Kiera couldn't make out.

The Flash turned his attention back to Telegirl. Kiera saw his eyes were different; they showed anger and hatred. Kiera realized the woman must have poisoned his mind against her again.

"No!" she whispered and in desperation she flicked her hand to the left, making the woman fly sideways and fall over the side of the walkway. The Flash ran to save her. Kiera used this distraction to fly back down to the first story and run back to Joe. She turned just in time to see the yellow lightning run down a nearby flight of stairs and catch the woman before she hit the floor. Joe and Kiera blinked and they were gone.

* * *

Joe, Telegirl, and two security guards stood before the display case that once held The Carmen Lúcia Ruby. All that was left of the glass case were tiny pieces of glass scattered on the floor and spike-like pieces that looked like teeth around the metal stand that once held the ring.

Kiera sighed.

They had failed again.

They had failed to rescue The Flash and capture the woman. "I'm going to head back," Kiera whispered to Joe, who was explaining what happened to the other police officers. He nodded to her and she headed outside.

Fresh air blew back her hair as she opened the front door. She looked up at the night sky and her mind went to the date she had with Barry a few days before. Kiera frowned and looked down from the sky before she could become lost in her thoughts and emotions. In front of her several police cars- including Joe's- with red and blue flashing lights were left abandoned by the police officers who were now inside the museum. She looked away as the bright lights nearly blinded her. Kiera needed to get away. She needed to find somewhere quiet where she could try to communicate with Barry again.

Kiera had an idea and jumped up into the air, using her Telekinesis to keep her self up in the air. She smiled as she hovered above the museum's steps and then made her body slowly rise under she was higher than the museum's roof. Kiera looked around at the city below her and it made Kiera feel something she'd never really felt before- pure joy. She was flying; something everyone dreams about from time to time. She didn't want to go back down to Earth. She felt like a bird and for a little while Kiera forgot about the situation below her, she forgot that Barry was being mind controlled to do whatever the woman wanted him to do.

After a few minutes of floating, she used her mind to slowly move her body forward over the city's buildings. As she went, she slowly increased speed, until he was flying at about the speed a car would go on the freeway. Her long hair flew behind her like a blonde cape as she flew the chilly air.

Her smile didn't fade as she flew over Central City, not until a voice spoke in her ear, that is.

"Uh, Kiera? There's a situation." She immediately recognized the voice as Cisco's. The sudden interruption made Kiera lose her focus and she started to fall towards the street far below. She gasped and tried to focus on making herself float again, but she continued to fall. Her mind was spinning, trying to focus on the sights around her, on the fast approaching street, on the fact that Cisco had told her something was wrong, and the fact that she was falling.

Kiera tried again to make her self float. She saw the roof of a nearby building and aimed herself towards it. The journey was rough; she fell several feet, and then got her self to float horizontally for a few feet before falling again. She finally touched down on the roof and rolled several feet before finally stopping. She winced and slowly sat up. Kiera knew tomorrow she'd have bruises and maybe even some road rash.

"What's the situation?" Kiera managed as she checked her suit over for damage.

"There's an apartment fire on Highlander Drive," Cisco said into the microphone. "Usually The Flash would take care of things like this…"

Kiera sighed. She was not The Flash. How could she help in that situation? All she could do was read minds, move things with her mind and now fly.

"I can try to help," she said as she stood up slowly, wincing as pain shot through her body from the fall. "How far is it from my location?"

"About two miles to your left," Caitlin stated as she looked at the computer screen. "Be careful, Kiera."

"No guarantees," Kiera mumbled before focusing on lifting her own body into the air. She hovered for a few seconds, getting used to it again, before moving herself through the air again.

Thick black smoke rose above the apartment building as Telegirl approached a few minutes later. The smoke seemed to coming mainly from the top two floors. She looked down from where she was hovering and saw two fire trucks was already parked in front of the building and firefighters were running around, trying to help put the fire out and save residents from the flames.

"What do I-" Kiera was in the middle of asking when she heard scream. She went a little closer, trying to find the source of the scream and out of the corner of her eye she saw something move. She turned her head and saw it was a small boy standing on a window ledge on the floor below the fire. He looked back inside and screamed again, seeing the burning room inside. As the boy looked back, his foot slipped off the edge and he started to fall down the side of the building.

Kiera gasped and without thinking she made her self fly towards the falling boy. Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to go as fast as possible. She aimed herself just below the boy and held her arms out, ready to catch him.

A few seconds later, Telegirl successfully scooped up the boy and started to descend towards the ambulance that had just pulled up. She carefully touched down on the sidewalk and set the child down. The young boy looked up at her, stunned at what just happened and Kiera got a better look at him. She realized he couldn't be more than three years old.

"You're safe now," Telegirl whispered to the boy as she saw a paramedic approach.

Kiera looked over at the firefighters and saw they were trying to position fire hoses to shoot water up to the fire. Nothing they did seemed to work. The burning floors were too high up. Kiera frowned as she watched and walked over to them.

"Let me help," she said as she put her hand out towards the two hoses. They started to rise toward the burning stories above them. Telegirl made the hoses hover once they reached the top floors of the burning building and a couple firefighters turned on the water.

A while later, the water finally extinguished the fire and Kiera brought the hoses back to the fire trucks. The firemen cheered and thanked Telegirl for helping them.

Kiera smiled at them. "You all are the real heroes," she said to them before returning to check on the boy who almost fell to his death.

"How are you doing, young man?" Kiera asked as she kneeled before the boy, who had been reunited with his mother and was now sitting with her on the curb across the street from the building.

The boy shyly said he was okay and his mother thanked Telegirl. Kiera smiled, glad she could have helped and the boy suddenly hugged her as tight as he could. Telegirl hugged back and smiled again before saying goodbye and flying up into the sky.

Kiera's head suddenly started to spin and she felt lethargic and weak. She managed to land on a nearby roof before it got to bad.

"Kiera? Are you okay?" Caitlin asked in her ear. "Your vitals are spiking."

"I don't know. My head hurts and I feel weak. My mouth is dry," Kiera said as she sat down on the roof and closed her eyes, hoping these symptoms would subside.

"You overexerted yourself. Your abilities do have a limit. You need to rest. Stay there and we'll come get you," Dr. Snow said.

"Okay... thanks," Kiera managed. She kept her eyes closed and focused on breathing deep and slow.

The ride home was rough for Kiera. Kiera had managed to fly down to the van before almost passing out. Caitlin had her lay down on the back seat of the van after they arrived. As Cisco drove to Kiera's apartment, Caitlin watched over Kiera. She had her drink several bottles of water to help with her dehydration and then gave her some painkillers to help ease the symptoms.

Caitlin helped Kiera up to her apartment once they arrived. The doctor helped her out of her suit and into pajamas, as Kiera felt too weak and sluggish to do it herself. Caitlin demanded she go right to bed and helped her get in bed, taking care of her needs before she left.

* * *

The next morning, Kiera woke up to see sunbeams shining in through her bedroom's windows. She glanced over at the clock knowing she slept in later than usual. _12:14._

Even though she had been exhausted it hadn't been easy for her to sleep after Caitlin helped her get in her bed last night. She kept thinking about Barry and the woman. She even attempted to reach him using their connection, but it only made her symptoms worse. She tossed and turned all night and what little sleep she did get was fraught with nightmares of what Barry could be going through.

Kiera started to remember what happened the day before. First she took down a thief who had stolen an old woman's purse while she was a work, then she used her abilities to look through Barry's eyes, jumped off a building and learned how to make herself fly in an attempt to rescue Barry from the black and red woman, after that she used all she had to focus on Barry and try to get through to him again, then the museum incident and lastly the late night flying and heroic act of catching a falling kid and putting out a fire.

Kiera hadn't realized how busy her day at been until now. She tried to sit up, but her head started to spin again. She groaned and glanced at her nightstand. She leaned over carefully and downed a couple painkillers with a glass of water that Caitlin had left with her the night before. The movement only made her head worse, so she laid back down and stayed as still as she could for several minutes.

Once the painkillers started to kick in, she slowly got up and went to the bathroom to take a hot bath. The warm water soothed her aching body and mind. She stayed in the bath for about an hour before attempting to take a quick shower and get dressed. The short journey from her bedroom to her kitchen took longer than normal. Her muscles ached, her head pounded and spun in protest as she slowly made it to the kitchen. She ate what little food she had left in her apartment before she locked up and headed out. She thought walking through her apartment was hard, until she started walking down the building's stairs. After every floor she had to sit down on the bottom step and rest for five minutes. She managed to call a cab while she waiting on the second flight of stairs and it took Kiera a half an hour to reach the apartment's front door.

Kiera got into the cab and took the driver to take her to S.T.A.R. Labs. She let out a sigh as she leaned her head back on the seat and closed her eyes, grateful to be sitting for a while.

"Are you alright ma'am?" the cabby asked as he watched her from his rear view mirror.

"Yeah, just uh hung over," she lied.

"Ah, I've been there many times."

Twenty minutes later, Kiera paid the cabbie and tried to hold back a groan as she pulled herself out of the taxi. She slowly made her way inside the lab and towards the main room. She was starting to feel better than she had when she woke up and she only needed a couple breaks before she made it to the main room.

Caitlin looked up from work she was doing and when she saw it was Kiera, she dropped her pencil and stood up. "Kiera! You shouldn't be here! You need to rest!" She said as she hurried to her patient.

"I'm fine, better. Thanks," Kiera said as she sat down on a nearby chair. Caitlin handed her a bottle of water and she gratefully accepted it. "I can't stay in bed while Barry is who knows where! He's still with that mind-controlling woman and we need to find him," she added after drinking some water.

Caitlin sighed, witnessing Kiera's stubbornness again. "And what will you do once you confront them? You are still recovering, Kiera. If you overexert yourself again…" she trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

Kiera stood up. "Then I'll train. I'll learn my limits and get better."

"Well at least let me give you this," the young doctor said as she walked to the small medical room on the left side. She came back a minute later and held the item up for Kiera to see. Caitlin was holding a large syringe of what looked like blood connected to a thin Hypodermic needle.

"What is it?" Kiera asked, curious.

"I saved some of Barry's blood in case you got injured again."

Kiera's eyes widened. "And you think it will help me recover quicker from overexerting myself?"

"It should, but there's only one way to find out," Caitlin answered and smiled.

Kiera nodded, agreeing to try it. She sat back down and folded up her sleeve. The young doctor skillfully inserted the needle and started to inject Barry's blood into her arm.

"Save some. In case I need some later," Kiera said and Caitlin nodded.

After the small transfusion, Caitlin put the half-full syringe away and went back to work. She made sure Kiera rested, letting the blood begin to work.

Kiera glanced over at one of the monitors on the screen. A newscaster was speaking inaudibly and small square picture of a yellow streak coming out of the Central City Museum was displayed on the top right corner.

"Can you turn it up?" Kiera asked Caitlin. She nodded and walked to one of the computers. Caitlin clicked the mouse and they could hear what the man was reporting.

"-seems to be taking up a life of crime. This time we are positive it's him." The screen changed to show a shaky phone video of The Flash walking out of the jewelry store with the mind-controlling woman. He was carrying a large bag of what had to be jewelry. Then in a blink of an eye they were gone. "That was taken at the Luxury Diamonds Jewelry store last night. It seems The Flash has a new accomplice; the masked red and black woman seen in the video." The screen changed back to show the newscaster and displayed a smaller image of The Flash and the woman standing outside of the store. "If you know who this woman is or have any details that might help, please contact the Central City police."

"And it seems Central City's new hero- the woman who calls herself 'Telegirl- has taken over The Flash's job of saving the city," the man continued and the screen changed again to show the same shot of the museum, but this time it showed Telegirl standing out front and then flying up into the dark sky. Then the screen changed to show a video of Telegirl tackling the purse thief to the ground.

Kiera sighed. "I don't want to take over The Flash's job. He's the real hero, not me! I could barely save a child and put out a fire before I collapsed! The news used to report The Flash saving a handful or more people every night!"

"You also caught a thief," Caitlin said with a smile, trying to help Kiera feel better.

"He's still the real hero, not me," Kiera stated before turning her attention back to the news. The screen now showed another shaky video, but this time it was of the burning building. First it focused on the firefighters coming in and out of the building carrying terrified residents. Then the camera suddenly moved up and focused on the screaming boy standing on the windowsill. The camera moved again and followed Telegirl has she flew towards the falling three-year-old. It followed her all the way to the ground, where she handed a medic the scared boy. The camera showed her walking to the firefighters and offering her help. Cheers broke out as Telegirl used her Telekinesis to put the flames out.

The screen changed back to the newscaster. "If you are just tuning in, what you just saw was Central City's new hero, Telegirl, saving the city while The Flash is on a crime spree."

Caitlin frowned and clicked her mouse, muting the screen as the man changed to other news. The two women exchanged looks. The news didn't have the whole story, but then again, neither did they.

A couple minutes later Cisco entered the room, carrying the Telegirl suit. "Man, you're lucky! The suit didn't have too much damage. I told you it would protect you!" He grinned. "I just had to replace a few pieces and we're all good."

"Thank you," Kiera said and smiled. "I need to train, so it will come in handy." He handed her the suit.

* * *

"Let's start of with something easy again. Let us know if you need to stop. Don't overexert yourself again," Caitlin said as she stood up behind the foldable table that held the monitors. The team had arrived at Ferris Air Strip a few minutes before and had set up the S.T.A.R. Lab's tent and training courses for Telegirl's training.

Kiera nodded at Caitlin and put the thin monitoring circlet on her head. She pulled out the small silver device from her pocket and pressed the button before throwing it up in the air. She focused on the falling shield and before it could touch the ground it floated. She smiled; glad that she could use her Telekinesis again without feeling like she had to puke. Barry's blood had helped her recover. Even though he wasn't with them, he was still helping her.

The shield circled Kiera, increasing speed with every rotation. She made the shield stop before her and then fly up into the sky before coming back down and stopping in front her.

"Good. Ready to try to block the drone's attacks again?" Caitlin asked.

Kiera nodded and Cisco picked up a remote. The drone buzzed to life and flew off the table. It circled Kiera and she moved the shield to mirror the drone.

She easily blocked the drone's attempts to hit her with a paintball, until the shield looked like a kid's finger painting.

"Can it go any faster?" Kiera shouted over the noise.

Cisco glanced over at Caitlin to make sure it was okay. She nodded and Cisco smirked. "I have barely begun to show you what this baby can do!" With that he pressed another button and used the joystick to control the drone. It glided through the air, flying up into the sky and then as it came down it rapidly fired paintballs down at Kiera. She quickly positioned the shield above her and stepped back and forth as the drone flew back and forth on its way down towards her. Kiera spun, her arms positioned above her, palms parallel with the shield. The drone followed her and continued to fire paintball after paintball.

Kiera looked up to see where the drone was, but the splatters of paint completely covered her clear shield. She frowned and then an idea came to her. Kiera closed her eyes, tuning out the loud _thump, thump, thump_ of the paintballs hitting the shield and the increasing noise the drone made as it flew down towards her. She focused, also ignoring the slightly pounding of her head and in a few seconds she started to rise above the ground. Kiera focused on keeping the shield above her and making her body fly at the same time.

As she ascended she realized the sound of the drone was still increasing, the paintballs continuing to shoot out of the gun at a very fast speed. Kiera moved her head so she could peek past the shield and get the drone's location. She saw it was almost on top of her. Kiera moved the shield and her body to the right, so she wasn't in the drone's path and it flew by; only an inch from the shield. As the drone flew past, Cisco angled the gun to fire at her from the side. She made the shield fly through the air and block the rapid fire.

Kiera had a better view now and saw the drone was moving towards her again. Without thinking, she made the shield spin towards the drone. It made contact and the drone broke apart. Pieces of the machine started to rain down on the empty part of the airstrip.

"Hey!" Cisco shouted as he tried to move the drone with his remote, but nothing happened.

His protest snapped Kiera back to reality. She looked down and saw the pieces of the machine scattered on the ground below her. She winced. "Oops! I guess I got caught up in the moment and forgot it was just training. I'm sorry!" she said as she floated down to the ground and put the compacted shield back in her pocket.

Cisco frowned and ran over to pick up the destroyed drone. Kiera took the opportunity to walk over to the tent for a break. She sat down beside Caitlin and downed a bottle of water.

"How are you feeling? Any symptoms resurfacing?" Caitlin asked as she looked over at her patient.

"I'm fine. A headache, but other than that I feel fine," she lied. In truth her head pounded and her body felt weak again, but she didn't want to stop. She needed to train. She needed to get better so that next time she could succeed in defeating The Flash's captor.

"Good. What would you like to do next?"

Kiera watched Cisco pick up the scattered pieces and mumble to the drone as if it was his own child.

Kiera frowned as her mind wandered to last time she was here; Barry was also here and helped her through their connection.

"I could try mental communication?"

Caitlin nodded in agreement.

Kiera practiced talking mentally with Caitlin as Cisco stood up and placed the damaged drone on a table and tried to put it back together. He gave up after fifteen minutes and returned to the tent.

Caitlin looked over at Kiera and saw she was struggling to mask her pain that was resurfacing. Barry's blood wasn't working as well as it had on her physical injuries. The young doctor stood up and stated, "I think that's enough for one day. Kiera is still recovering from yesterday. We should head back."

Kiera looked up and surprisingly didn't give up a fight. She simply nodded and stood up also. The team packed up the van and headed back to S.T.A.R. Labs.

* * *

Kiera stared up at the blue sky above her. Once they had gotten back to the Lab, she wanted some time to herself while the two scientists tried to track the woman and Barry down and tried to find anything they could about her. So Kiera used her abilities to float up to S.T.A.R. Lab's roof and laid down beside one of the unusually shaped pillars that towered above the circular shaped building. The shade it provided allowed Kiera to look up and not be blinded by the sun.

Her mind wandered and she found herself thinking about him again. Even though their time together was brief, the connection they shared made it feel like they'd known each other for years. She closed her eyes; trying not to think about what danger he could be in at this very moment or what the woman was making him do. Instead she focused on reaching his mind and trying to talk to him again.

 _Barry? Can you hear me?_

She laid still for a few minutes, focusing on reading any sort of signal he might be trying to give her.

 _Barry? Are you there? Are you okay? Can you hear me?_

Nothing.

Kiera sighed and opened her eyes. Before she could sit up a wave of emotions flooded her mind. She winced at the overload of feelings and closed her eyes again. Instead of seeing the usual blackness that comes with closing her eyes, she saw a scene before her. She looked around and saw she was in a living room. It was dark; Kiera guessed from the dark window it must have been the middle of the night, but inside the room was lit by yellow and red lightning swirling around the room causing papers and other objects to fly around. Kiera saw the form of a woman standing in the center. She looked familiar; in fact the whole scene looked familiar. Kiera realized this was the night of Barry's mother's murder. But something was different.

Kiera realized the woman standing in the center wasn't kneeling or wearing her casual clothes; instead she was standing in a flowing white dress and her curled hair was flying around her in the wind.

His mother looked like an angel.

Kiera was so focused on the scene in the living room that she didn't see a red form standing between her and his mother. Kiera felt herself step closer in this vision, as if being drawn in. As she got closer, she realized she recognized the form.

"Barry?" she heard herself whisper.

The red form turned and The Flash now stood before her. Tears were running down his face and over his mask. At first he didn't register who she was, but then his face softened and he looked in her eyes as he pushed his mask off his face.

"Kiera?"

She nodded and stepped forward. She reached out her arms to hug him in an attempt to comfort him, suddenly realizing just how much she missed him.

Kiera's arms passed right through The Flash's form as if he were a ghost and Kiera pulled back startled. "What just happened? Are you a-? Are we in-?" She didn't want to finish the questions.

"I don't know? I don't think so…" He said as he looked down at his suit and then reached out a hand to touch her shoulder. His hand passed through her body and he pulled back too.

Kiera glanced around as she tried to figure out what was going on. The house they were standing in a minute ago was gone and all that was left was white. Not a white room, just an abyss of white, as if everything else was scrubbed away.

"Is this real?" she whispered as she tried to look for something- anything- in the vast white space.

"I'm dreaming," Barry concluded as he also looked around. "But how are you…?" He looked back at her.

Their eyes met. "I guess I was able to enter your mind since you were asleep and not under the control of that woman."

"What woman?" he asked, but then started to remember bits and pieces.

"Kiera?" a man's voice echoed through the vast space around them and Kiera realized it wasn't Barry's voice. "Can you hear me?" It asked and she suddenly felt like she was being pulled, pulled away from Barry. He started to fade away. She was being pulled out of his dream. She was waking up.

"No! No! Barry!" She shouted, not wanting to leave him. "We will find you! Don't lose hope! We _will_ find you!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, as the darkness surrounded her.

Suddenly everything was black. Kiera inhaled sharply and sat up quickly as she opened her eyes. Reality started to sink in and she found herself back on S.T.A.R. Lab's roof.

"Kiera?" the voice asked again and Kiera realized it was Cisco's.

"Are you okay?" Caitlin asked, having heard her scream.

"What?" Kiera asked and looked around for the two scientists, but saw she was alone on the roof. She then remembered she still had the earpiece in her ear. "Oh, uh, yeah. Fine. What's wrong?"

"You should come inside. We finally found some info on the ruby thief- Ruby thief? No, that's not good. I'll think of one better!" Cisco said.

"We found some info on the woman and it's not good," Caitlin said in a serious voice, finishing Cisco's sentence.

"Coming!" Kiera said as she stood up and descended down to the ground, before running inside.

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE: Hey everyone. I apologize for the long wait. I slipped into a a little writer's block while writing this chapter. It's not my best, but I hope you like it. Hopefully the next chapter will be easier. (:**

 **And I have to thank my friend _highlander348_ for her help with a few ideas. **

**Also "The Carmen Lúcia Ruby" is a real ring. I do not claim to own it! I just added it in because I thought it would be a perfect piece of jewelry for Ruby Siren to steal.  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**WRITER'S NOTE: A few of you had questions and concerns, so I'll answer them for you. (:  
** **WinterRain36 suggests Kiera should be more confident in herself.  
-Kiera isn't as confident, because she believes The Flash is the real hero. He's the one who saved Central City time and time again and Kiera is just a newbie. She's still learning about her abilities and far from mastering them. She also doesn't want to take The Flash's spotlight. **

**Marie wanted to know why Kiera got so weak after the apartment building fire.  
-Kiera had a VERY busy day. It's explained in the last chapter (the scene where Kiera woke up the next day). She used her powers several times that day and it caught up with her. She overexerted her powers.**

 **Thanks again for all your reviews and kind words! It means more than you know! Always makes my day when I see I got a new review. (:  
**

* * *

Kiera stared at the large screens on either side of her as she listened to Cisco. Just minutes ago, Caitlin and Cisco had told her they dug up some intel on the masked red and black woman who was using her mind-controlling abilities to make The Flash her accomplice.

Cisco pressed a button on his keyboard and the screen showed a black and white security video from a bank. The bank was empty and dark.

"This is from The Coast City Jewelers & Co nine years ago," Cisco said as he pressed play. Kiera glanced at him when she heard her hometown mentioned and then looked back at the screen.

The room was still for a moment before one of the front windows shattered and several dark forms entered. It was too dark to see what they looked like, but every once in a while a shine of light from one of their flashlights would reveal they were wearing dark masks and colored body armor suits. They didn't even care about covering the security cameras, because they knew no one could identify them. Kiera was able to count five thieves.

The team of thieves worked skillfully and in unison, as if having done these many times before. There wasn't much audible communication, making Kiera guess they planned this several months ahead. One of the thieves stood as a look out while two carefully took the jewelry out of their display cases and into suitcases, one checked the store's cash register and the last one emptied the store's vault. They worked quickly and without hesitation. In less than two minutes they were finished and out the same way they came in, escaping several minutes before the police arrived on scene.

"Four of the five were finally caught three days after this and sentenced to nine years in prison. They still haven't found the fifth. The police named them 'The Jewel Thieves', because each one preferred one jewel over the rest and often only stole jewelry containing those five gemstones," he said as he pulled up pictures of the group.

"There was 'Sapphire'," he paused and pressed a button. A police file came up on part of the left screen. It showed a man in a blue and black costume and mask and his prison picture next to it. Below the photos it displayed his criminal record. Kiera quickly read several reports of robbery, breaking and entering, and so on.

"Topaz," Cisco said as another part of the screen showed a similar criminal record of a man in a black and dark orange costume and mask.

"Amethyst." Another record showed up on the left screen, displaying a record with a man in a black and purple costume and mask.

"Emerald." A criminal record showed up on the right screen, showing a man in a black and dark green costume and mask.

"And the fifth one- the one that is still unknown- is Ruby," Cisco said and his tone changed as the image appeared.

"Is that-?" Kiera asked as she stepped closer to the image. The image of the masked woman looked almost identical to the woman that kidnapped The Flash. Most of the sections on the record were blank, but Kiera knew right away she was the same woman. The photo seemed to be taken from a security video, but Kiera could see she wore the same confident smile that displayed pure joy and greed. Her skintight red and black costume seemed to have had only changed a little since this photo was taken.

"Yes," Caitlin said as she stopped next to Kiera. "We've tried hacking every database we could think of to find her identity, but there's nothing. It's as if someone purposefully erased every trace of her. It's like nothing I've ever seen." She shook her head and frowned. "And have facial recognition software continuously looking at every security camera in Central City for Ruby and Barry. But we haven't gotten any hits; it's as if they are invisible."

"There's more," Cisco said and typed on the computer causing the screens to change again.

"These are robberies taken all over the U.S. in the past year," he said as the screens were divided into several sections to display different security videos. Kiera looked back and forth at the videos as they all played at once. They went down similar to the bank robbery video they watched earlier; but one thing was different. There were always only two thieves- one of the thieves always being the woman known as Ruby. The other accomplice changed every few videos, but in every video only Ruby wore a mask.

Cisco typed on his computer and the videos paused. Boxes appeared around the accomplices' faces and displayed their identities as four of other members of The Jewel thieves, besides Ruby.  
"Each time, they'd rob two to three jewelry stores a night, for two days and then the next day the other thief would be found in an alleyway and wouldn't remember anything about the robberies. They'd claim they didn't do it, even after the police showed them the videos," Caitlin said with a frown.

"So Ruby became a Meta after the explosion and now she's using her abilities to continue her life of crime," Kiera stated as she watched the unusual robberies.

"Dude! She uses her mind control to force them to rob the jewelry stores with her and then brainwashes them to forget before she lets them go!" Cisco said; a little too excited. "Like a temptress. The Ruby Temptress?" Cisco shook his head. "No. No. Not my best. I got it! Ruby Siren!" He smirked and nodded. "Yep, that's it! That's her name. Ruby Siren!"

"Do you think she- Ruby Siren-" Kiera paused and nodded towards Cisco, who was grinning wide. "-will do the same thing that she did with the other members of the Jewel Thieves, with Barry?" Kiera asked, in a serious tone. Her heartbeat increased at the thought. If the police found The Flash in some alleyway with no memory of what happened, they'd arrest him and reveal his true identity.

Caitlin and Cisco frowned.

"We won't let that happen," Caitlin said. "I did some calculations and even if she were a Meta with mind controlling abilities, she won't be able to continuously use it on one person forever. The government has been doing research with mind control and found that it starts to wear off after a while. I imagine it will be the same with Ruby Siren," Caitlin added.

"How long do you think she can control Barry?" Kiera asked.

"I'm not sure," Caitlin said.

"What if Ruby Siren only had the ability to control the other Jewel Thieves for two days, that's why she let them go after that," Cisco thought out loud.

Caitlin nodded. "And since Barry is a Meta like her, it's logical to conclude she'd be able to control him a longer than regular humans," she added.

Kiera nodded and then she realized what she had been thinking about earlier. "I'm sure she's used her Siren abilities to force Barry to reveal his identity to her. What's stopping her from telling the world now?"

"Maybe she's waiting until the end? She still needs him to help her rob jewelry stores. When her powers wear off maybe she has a plan to reveal his identity then?" Caitlin thought out loud as she looked at the rap sheets of the other members of The Jewel Thieves on the screen.

Kiera's fists tightened as she thought of The Flash's identity wrongly exposed. She felt how important it is for him to keep this a secret. She knew it would most likely break him if Ruby Siren succeeded.

* * *

"I need to tell them! They need to know The Flash isn't a criminal!" Kiera demanded later that day.

"I agree, but you don't really have any proof. Why would they believe you?"

"Because I've been seen fighting side by side with The Flash! I know him. _Telegirl_ knows him," Kiera insisted, growing frustrated.

"I'm not the enemy, Kiera. I'm just trying to prepare you for their reactions. Yes, The Flash was Central City's hero, but now the news is showing nothing but those videos of him robbing that store and museum! It's hard to argue with visual evidence," Caitlin said and frowned. It was her friend they were talking about. A friend that had been there for her more times than she could count. A friend she greatly missed also.

Kiera nodded and slipped on her mask, before turning on her heel and heading out. "Then wish me luck," she said over her shoulder as she walked out.

"All the luck in the world," Caitlin replied as she looked nervously over at Cisco, who had remained silent during the whole argument.

A few minutes later, Kiera ditched the S.T.A.R. Lab's van a couple blocks away and took to the roofs of Central City. She now stood on a building's roof looking down at the news station across the street. She took a deep breath to calm herself and straightened her shoulders.

"You can do this," she mumbled to herself. "They need to know the truth. They need to know The Flash is innocent."

She took another breath and jumped up in the air. Having had a little practice, she caught herself quickly and started to descend slowly towards the street. She floated above the cars and landed on the curb in front of the Central City News station's building.

Telegirl glanced around and saw that the civilians around had stopped and were watching to see what she was doing. Some even took out their phones and started snapping pictures and recording her.

A door closing brought Kiera's attention back to the building before her. Several people had emerged to come and see what was going on. A few seconds later, a man carrying a large news camera on his shoulder followed a pretty brunette reporter out of the building.

The time was now. There was no backing out now. Kiera inhaled sharply, trying to slow her heart rate. Kiera had always been a little on the shy side. She'd always feared talking to large crowds, ever since an incident in the fourth grade. Kiera tried to push that thought out of her mind and instead think of what needed to be done. The Flash needed to be known as a hero once more.

"People of Central City!" Telegirl started as she looked into the ready camera and then around at the growing crowd that now formed a circle around her. "I need you all to listen. I came only to say one thing; one important thing!" Telegirl looked back at the camera. "The Flash has not turned his back on you! He has not taken up a life of crime- not intentionally that is. The Flash is being controlled by an evil mind-controlling Meta-human named Ruby Siren; She is forcing him to rob for her! But she won't be for very much longer! I [will] find her! I will get our beloved hero back! You have my word!" She shouted over the clapping that started in the crowd around her.

"And what proof do you have, Telegirl? What's your proof that The Flash is being controlled by this woman?" The reporter asked into the microphone she held in her hand and then pointed it at her.

A sudden idea came to Kiera. "Look at the jewelry store footage again. Zoom in on The Flash's eyes when Ruby Siren turns to him. His eyes change! That's your proof!" Telegirl said into the camera.

"Oh boo hoo! You lost your man to another woman! Move on!" An old man in the crowd shouted.

Telegirl angrily turned towards the voice and shouted, "He's not _mine_! He's Central City's hero! He deserves more than five minutes of trust before you turn your back on him and call him a petty thief! How many times has The Flash saved Central City? More times than you or I can count! And after seeing one video of The Flash looking like he's stealing jewelry, you suddenly think he's changed sides?" She turned back to the camera as she continued the speech. "We've all seen unexplainable things before and this is just the latest!" Kiera glanced around at the crowd. "The Flash is not a thief! Ruby Siren is using her mind-controlling powers to force The Flash to do whatever she wants!" She repeated before jumping up in the air and flying up out of the crowd; the camera following her until she disappeared over the buildings.

Once Kiera was out of sight she sighed and shook her head. Caitlin had been right, not everyone believed her. She'd have to show them that she was right. She didn't know exactly how she'd do that, but she just knew she had to.

The wind blew back her long hair as she made herself fly through the air towards the Lab. Kiera cleared her mind and concentrated on moving her body through the air, trying not to dwell on what just happened.

Suddenly Kiera felt something- something strong. She closed her eyes tight as her head pounded and felt tight. She gasped and lost her concentration, causing her to fall again. It was as if every inch of her mind was screaming one thing.

 _9421 Golden Ave. 9421 Golden Ave. 9421 Golden Ave._

Kiera opened her eyes as she felt herself fall. She held in a scream and looked below her feet to see a crowded street quickly coming up to meet her. The address continued to pound in her head, almost taking over her senses, but she tried to focus. Kiera tried to focus on making her body float again, tried to at least move it over towards the nearest roof before she fell too far. She gritted her teeth and focused as hard as she could. Her body started to obey and she was slowed her descend and also started to move sideways.

[9421 GOLDEN AVE. 9421 GOLDEN AVE.]

The location surfaced again and was even stronger this time. Kiera screamed in pain as her head pounded and she felt something strike her back. She glanced behind her, but there wasn't anything there. Something was wrong. Kiera got the sudden feeling that someone at that address was in danger. Then she sensed it- she sensed who was in danger.

 _Barry Allen. Barry Allen. BARRY ALLEN. BARRY ALLEN._

The new piece of information caused Kiera to lose focus again and she started to fall once more. The pounding, repeating information and the pain her body was suddenly in made it impossible for her to focus. Kiera tried over and over again to catch her body and make it float towards the fast approaching roof that was now only a few feet to her right. Right before the building shot up past her, she was able to push herself towards it in one last attempt to save her self from becoming a splattered body on the street below. She reached out her right hand and grabbed onto the roof's ledge.

Kiera was now dangling off the side of the building. She swung her other arm up and grabbed onto the ledge before attempting to pull up herself up onto the roof. P.E. had never been a favorite class of hers while she was in school and now she wished she'd been more active then and now. Kiera screamed out in pain as her muscles gave out while she was trying to do a pull up and she fell back to dangling off the side.

 _9421 GOLDEN AVE. BARRY ALLEN. 9421 GOLDEN AVE. BARRY ALLEN_. The words repeating louder and louder in her mind as if she was right next to a speaker at a rock concert.

"Kiera?! Are you okay? Your vitals are spiking. Are you hurt?" Caitlin's concerned voice said in her ear. The young doctor had just stepped into the main room after doing some work in another room, when she saw the monitor's red warning across Telegirl's vitals.

"Barry's in trouble. I can sense it all of a sudden. And uh," she paused and looked down at the street below. She bit her lip and looked back up. "Sort of dangling off the side of a building at the moment."

"What?! Can you use her Telekinesis to-?"

"Trying. A little hard with a pounding head that won't stop telling me Barry's in trouble," Kiera interrupted.

"Take some deep breaths. Try to tune it out. Focus on your task," Caitlin said, trying to help the struggling Meta-human.

"I'll try," Kiera said and closed her eyes again as she took deep breaths through her nose and exhaled through her mouth.

 _Focus. Tune it out,_ she told herself as she continued to breathe deeply. She tried to focus on only the shape and weight of her own body and on lifting herself up. She tried to tune out the repeated information as Caitlin suggested.

At first it didn't do anything, but just as Kiera was about to give up, the pounding in her head started to go away. The information started to fade and she started to feel herself lift up into the air. Kiera didn't let go of the side of the building, fearing she might fall again at any minute as her body continued to rise. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the roof was now at her hip. Kiera slowly let go of the edge as continued to rise and once she was higher than the building she moved horizontally until she was standing on the roof.

She grinned at her success and started to relax.

"It worked. Thank you."

"Good. Now get back here so we can work up a plan to save Barry," Caitlin said as she too relaxed.

"No time. I need to go now. He needs help right away. I can sense it," Kiera said as she ran towards the roof's access door and swung it open.

Her body ached from blows Barry was receiving at that very second, but she jumped down the stairs as fast as she could. She knew The Flash needed help and nothing was going to stop her from coming to his aide.

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE: I'm sorry this chapter is a little short. I was going to have this chapter be the first part of the** **showdown between Ruby Siren and Telegirl- with the aide of The Flash of course, but I wanted to add a scene of Telegirl trying to convince Central City that The Flash had not gone bad.  
**

 **So as you guessed Chapter 15 will be the showdown. (: So keep a look out for the next chapter. :D**


	15. Chapter 15

**WRITER'S NOTE: Thank you all again for your kind reviews!**

 **Marie had a good suggestion/question. She asked how far apart Barry and Kiera can be and still use their connection.  
I haven't done much thought about it, but I do know it will be far. . Hopefully I can explore that in a later chapter. (: ****Marie suggested I write a scene where Barry runs to Star City and Kiera stays in Central City and they use their connection to communicate. It is a good idea! I had thought about doing a similar scene, so you'll definitely see a scene like that later on. (: Thank you, Marie, for your suggestion!**

 **I'm sorry (again) for taking so long in getting this chapter up for you guys. Writing the fight scenes took a long time to get just right. I didn't want to rush through them and have them end up sloppy and confusing.**

 **Also, if you are more of a visual person, this photo is the closest I could find to how I imagined the mansion. (just take out all of the spaces and the "X"s between the first four letters)**

hXtXtXp : / / specials-images. forbesimg imageserve /02jD9fP0jo42j/0x 600. jp g?fit=scale &background=000000

 **But anyways, here it is. Enjoy! And please review with feedback, suggestions, criticism, or questions! (:**

* * *

The S.T.A.R. Lab's van raced through the streets of Central City with the gas petal touching the floor and the constant sound of angry car horns surrounding the vehicle. Kiera cursed under her breath as she steered the fast-moving van back and forth though traffic, almost clipping a slow moving car.

"Sorry!" she found herself saying over and over again. "Even flying would be easier than this," she mumbled. As if to remind her, her head pounded harder and the words buzzed in her head like a swarm of bees.

 _9421 GOLDEN AVE. BARRY. 9421 GOLDEN AVE. BARRY._

"Alright! I got it! No flying!" she shouted at her own head as she winced in pain. "What's with my flying and close calls with roofs anyways?" she mumbled. Kiera realized she was talking out loud and frowned. "Great. Now I'm talking to myself," she mumbled again.

With her Telegirl suit and mask still on, she continued to drive the van towards the address, with the help of Cisco and Caitlin.

"Turn right NOW!" Cisco said in Kiera's ear.

Kiera turned the wheel to the right as hard as she could. The lab's van screamed out in protest and started to tip over as it turned. The van continued forward on only two tires for a few seconds before resuming on all four tires down the busy street.

"A little more warning next time would be good!" Kiera said as she felt her heart leave her throat and rest back in her chest. She took her foot off the brake petal and slammed the gas petal down again once she was going straight again.

"Sorry! Being a GPS isn't as easy as it looks," Cisco said.

Several sudden turns and apologizes to angry drivers later, Telegirl arrived at the address. She slowed the van to a stop across the street and looked out the windshield at the place before her.

"Are you sure you've got the right place?" Kiera whispered into the suit, but her mind answered her before Cisco could. She suddenly felt a weight lift from her mind and the repeating distress call seemed to have stopped bouncing around in her skull.

"Yes. Triple checked. Why?" Cisco replied.

"It's a castle!"

What Kiera saw really did look like a castle in a way. Past beautiful tall wrought iron gates and ivy covered stone walls, stood an enormous three-story home on a slight hill.

Kiera glanced around the van and realized all of the houses around her were mansions as well. Being poor all her life, she'd never seen so many beautiful homes before.

"I should have realized!" Caitlin said as she looked at the satellite image of the neighborhood. "Golden Avenue is the richest neighborhood in Central City!"

"Who owns the home?" Kiera asked, keeping an eye on the house as she prepared to go in.

"The Montgomery family. It looks like they are taking a three month vacation in Europe at the moment," Cisco replied as he looked up the information on his computer.

"That explains why Ruby Siren chose that one," Kiera said as she opened the van door and stepped out. "I'm going in," she added as she locked the van and snuck across the street towards the mansion.

"Be careful, Kiera. We don't know what's going on in there," Caitlin said into the microphone and her and Cisco exchanged worried looks.

Telegirl didn't want to alert her presence to Ruby Siren, not yet anyways, so she snuck to the left corner of the wall, it was hidden from the house by a large tree, and started to scale the wall with some help from Telekinesis. Telegirl reached the top quickly and made sure to stay behind the tree as she glanced around. Having a better look of the property from on top of wall, she was now able to see the mansion's size and appearance better. The exterior looked timeless, with white walls and grey bricks around large black-framed windows. A sizable driveway led up to a huge garage on the right side. On either side of the driveway, there were well-manicured lawns and gardens. To Kiera, the mansion looked like something from fairytale movies she used to watch as a kid.

 _Barry, if you can hear this, I'm just outside. I'm coming in._ Kiera said mentally before jumping off the wall. She ducked behind the tree and watched for any movement in the windows. Telegirl stayed as low as she could as she made her way along the inside of the left wall. She passed an indoor garden that stood at beside house and walked around the side of the house. Once she made it to the back, she peeked her head around the corner of the house to look at the backyard. In front of her stood a large covered deck with large glass table and chairs beneath it. The patio's steps led to a sizeable pool with a waterfall and a spa. Everything was eerily silent.

Kiera glanced over a covered outdoor kitchen area to her left before stealthily climbing the patio's stairs and heading toward the closest door. She carefully looked through the glass patio doors and saw a dining area that only held a small round table. Seeing the dining room was empty, she walked to the patio door's handle and tried to open it slowly. It was locked.

"At the back door. Going inside," she whispered an update to the team at S.T.A.R. Labs. Telegirl placed her hand on one of the door handles and closed her eyes as she focused on the lock on the other side. Using her Telekinesis, she moved the lock and it clicked open. Kiera smirked at her success at unlocking a door using only her mind and slowly turned the handle before walking inside.

She walked through the small room and saw another set of glass doors on her right that lead out to the indoor garden she saw from the outside. She turned to her left and saw a large kitchen before her. It too was eerily silent.

As Kiera looked around, trying to figure out where to go next, she suddenly heard talking coming from upstairs. She quickly ran for cover behind the kitchen's large island. Kiera held her breath as she pressed her back against the island, trying to stay quiet as she listened.

A loud crash upstairs made Kiera jump and she gripped one of the island's legs until her knuckles turned white. She tried hard to fight the urge to bolt towards the noise and see if Barry was in trouble and needed her help. She knew that if she did, she'd ruin any chance of catching Ruby Siren off guard and would probably just get herself killed. Instead she stayed behind the island for a few excruciating minutes as she listened for any more noise or any indications from her link with Barry about what was going on upstairs.

Kiera stood up slowly after those few quiet moments and walked as fast and as quietly as she could out of the kitchen and into a hallway. She glanced to her right and saw a hallway with several doors and another glass door leading to the indoor garden. Another loud crash from upstairs made Telegirl's head turn quickly in the direction of the noise and saw the hallway opened up into a large room and then to the next wing of the mansion. She walked passed a large elegant dining room and stopped when she saw stunning black front doors that were decorated with glass mosaic images. Kiera stood quietly for a moment under the second story landing that was connected to the first story by two large staircases on either side. She held her breath as she listened for any more noise. Hearing nothing, she stepped out into the front foyer and turned around to look up the stairs. From what she could see up on the second floor, it was also eerily still. She glanced from side to side to see the two grand staircases that curved, almost form a circle around her. Beyond the left staircase she could see the same large dining area that she saw earlier and looking to her right she saw a grand sitting room beyond the other staircase. Seeing they were both empty, Kiera cautiously walked up the left staircase, staying as low as she could as she climbed.

As Telegirl stepped onto the open landing on the second floor, she heard a crash and a woman's angry scream come from her right. She guessed it was Ruby Siren and Barry fighting.

Kiera glanced around quickly to make sure she wasn't seen yet, before cautiously walking towards the noise. After only a couple steps in that direction air left her lungs and a new pain spread over her abdomen as she felt what had to be Barry getting punched hard in the stomach. Kiera bit her bottom lip hard so she wouldn't scream out and give away her location. She pressed her hand against the hallway's right wall for a few seconds to regain her composure before continuing to walk towards the commotion. Telegirl stopped and leaned against the wall next to an open door on the right side of the hallway as she waited for another sound. A grunt told her the fight was not in the room she was at, so she carefully looked in as she passed the door. Kiera crossed the hallway and stopped at another open door to listen again. This time it wasn't a sound she heard, but instead a chair flew out into the hallway and broke against the opposite wall.

Kiera took out her shield and pressed the button before throwing it up in front of her. She silently thanked Cisco for making the shield activation inaudible and then she made it hover before her. Telegirl took a deep breath and ran into the room, with her shield in front of her.

It only took a couple seconds for Kiera to take in the scene Telegirl was now standing in what looked like it was once a beautiful master bedroom with large windows and glass doors leading out to a terrace. A king size bed stood against the right wall and dressers and other furniture on the other. Ruby Siren's stolen jewelry were on miscellaneous surfaces around the room as if they were trophies. The bedroom would have been grand, if a fight had not been taking place. The floor was a mess of tossed blankets, broken furniture, shattered glass and broken vases.

Kiera's eyes went straight to the forms in the room. Standing closest to Telegirl was Ruby Siren with her back towards the door. From what Kiera could see, Ruby Siren was wearing her usual skintight costume.

Barry, in regular street clothes instead of his Flash suit, stood near the bed, trying to dodge attacks- at a regular human's speed- aimed his way. It took a few seconds for Kiera to process it. She glanced around the room until she saw the Flash suit hanging on the inside of the walk-in closet's door. Why wasn't he wearing it? Ruby Siren was wearing hers. And then she realized Ruby Siren already knew who The Flash was and was probably trying to take advantage of it. One of Kiera's worst fears was coming true.

She quickly looked back at Barry and her heart skipped a beat, partly from seeing him unmasked in front of their enemy, but mostly because she was actually seeing him again. She had missed him and seeing him again- alive- made her smile.

Their eyes met and for a brief second, recognition appeared in Barry's eyes. Relief washed over Kiera. The last time she'd seen Barry, he hadn't even recognized her. Remembering what Caitlin said earlier, she realized Ruby Siren's mind control must have started wearing off, that must be why a fight had broken out.

Telegirl's smile quickly faded when she witnessed Ruby Siren take advantage of the second Barry was distracted and landed a punch to his face. A terrified scream came from Kiera's mouth as she saw Barry fall back on the bed.

Ruby Siren, unaware that Telegirl was there until now, spun around at the scream. Kiera saw she was unfortunately wearing her black and red mask.

Before Ruby Siren could react, Kiera used her Telekinesis to throw the shield at the villain. The speed, at which the shield flew and hit Ruby Siren, sent her flying back into the open master bathroom and slamming into the tile floor in a loud crash. Once the woman disappeared in the other room, Kiera ran to Barry.

"Barry? Barry? Are you okay?" Kiera asked frantically as she kneeled by the bed, trying to help him up.

Barry groaned and slowly opened his eyes as blood dripped down from a fresh cut above his left eyebrow. He lifted his head sluggishly and focused on the face before him. "Kiera? Is that really you? I- I thought maybe it was another dream."

Kiera managed a smile. "No, I'm here. Are you okay? Can you get up?"

Barry nodded and carefully pushed himself off the bed with Kiera's help.

"Why didn't you use your speed to dodge her punches?"

"Speed?" Barry said slowly as he looked over at Kiera, puzzled.

"Yeah, your super speed…" Kiera saw the genuine confusion in his eyes. What had Ruby Siren done to him to make him forget about his superhuman abilities?

"Ruby Siren must have used her mind control to-" she paused. "Nevermind. We'll figure it out later. We should go before…" she trailed off as she looked over at the bathroom just as the other woman emerged in the doorway, looking very angry. The villain charged at the couple by the bed. Kiera grabbed her shield with her mind and quickly blocked woman's attack.

 _Barry, run!_ Kiera said mentally as she grabbed his hand, hoping he'd remember and help get them out of the room before the woman could reach them.

Still not remembering, Barry stood up quickly- at a normal human's speed and not at The Flash's speed- and rushed around the shield to fight the villain again.

Kiera used the shield to make Ruby Siren fall to the ground. Barry quickly grabbed the woman's arm and twisted it behind her back. Ruby Siren screamed in pain and used Barry's weight against him by pulling him down so he rolled over her back and onto the ground on the other side.

 _Barry, your speed! Use it! You can do this!_ Kiera mentally cried out to Barry.

Barry glanced over at Kiera, still confused, before pulling the woman down again. Kiera saw a flicker of red lightning run up Barry's arm as he pulled the woman to the ground and Kiera felt a spark of hope.

Ruby Siren yelped as she slammed into the bedroom's floor. She grunted and quickly tried to stand up again.

 _Faster, Barry! Try going faster!_ Kiera coaxed, anxiously as she stepped toward the fight.

Barry managed to stand up before Ruby Siren. As the villain stood she tried to swing her leg up to kick him, but Barry blocked her leg with his arm and pushed the woman back towards the bathroom. He followed her and tried another punch, but Ruby Siren regained her footing and ducked.

She straightened, looked into Barry's eyes and whispering something that Kiera couldn't hear.

"No!" Telegirl shouted and ran towards them, knowing the villain was trying to use her abilities to control Barry again.

Her shout caused Barry to turn his head in her direction. Kiera saw his eyes chang from pure white to his normal blue eyes. The sight made Kiera furious and she picked her shield up with her mind and swung it past Barry, making it slam into Ruby Siren again. She flew backwards into the bathroom. Barry turned around to face Telegirl and balled his fists, brainwashed into thinking it was his job to protect Ruby Siren and kill Telelgirl.

"Whatever she's told you, it's a lie! You know me! I'm your friend! I'm your-" Kiera stopped, not sure what to call what they had before he was abducted. "I don't want to fight you!" Barry didn't listen and started to charge toward her.

 _Barry, you can fight her control over you! I will not fight you! You're not evil! You are kind, compassionate and a hero!_ She turned to their mental connection, trying to get him to realize what he was about to do.

Barry let out an angry shout and ran towards her. Kiera quickly flung the shield at his feet with her mind, causing Barry to trip and fall, allowing her a few seconds to scramble backwards in an attempt to get away from him.

Barry grunted angrily and stood up before lanching off the ground, throwing himself towards Telegirl with his fist out, ready to punch her. Kiera felt pure terror as she saw the man she had feelings for hurl himself at her, wanting only to kill her. She quickly backed up until her legs hit the bed and she fell back onto it. Without even realizing it, she made her discarded shield raise from the bedroom floor and fly through the air. Right before Barry was about to land the punch, the shield stopped between them and his fist slammed into the clear glass-like material. He screamed in pain and anger, making Kiera wince. She exhaled, not realizing she had been holding her breath and stared wide-eyed at Barry through the shield. Was this really happening? Was Barry really trying to kill her?

Barry clenched his jaw as he watched her, trying to figure out how to get past the shield. He ducked to the left, in an attempt to get past her protection, but she made the shield follow him. Kiera was suddenly grateful for all the training she'd had done with the shield.

Barry angrily shouted, growing frustrated with Telegirl's defense and paced in front of the shield.

"Please. Please don't make me do this," Kiera whispered as she watched him act like a predator wanting to rip the throat out of his prey. Her eyes filled with tears and she pleaded with him, trying to get him to realize this wasn't really him. It was just Ruby Siren's mind control.

Barry stared at her as he continued pace, unchanged by her attempts to turn him to her side. His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists tight at his sides.

Kiera quickly changed her tactics to their mental connection. _Barry, please! I'm begging you, please stop! It's not you! It's her! She's controlling you! She poisoned your mind against me! Barry, listen to me!_

Barry shook his head, trying to get her out of his mind. He lunged forward and pressed his entire weight against the shield. Kiera gritted her teeth as she used her Telekinesis to push the shield back against him. Barry glared at her through the shield as continued to push. Kiera inhaled sharply as she stared at him; only a few inches and a thin shield separating this bloodthirsty version of Barry from her.

 _Please!_ she begged again. _You can fight this. She's the enemy, not me!_

He didn't respond, but instead pressed harder against the shield. Telegirl scooted back on the bed. She screamed as she mentally tried to keep the shield in place. Her head started to pound, but she didn't stop pushing. She couldn't stop; if she did he'd most likely kill her.

A sudden idea came to Kiera; she knew it wasn't one of her best ideas, it was one that would most likely end with her dying, but it was the only thing she could think of. Kiera took a deep breath, trying to convince herself it would work.

Telegirl released the shield with her mind and Barry stumbled forward. He angrily threw the shield to his right and stepped toward the bed. Balling his fists again, his mouth twisting up into an evil smile, he stared down at his prey, lying on the bed before him.

"This is _not_ how I thought our first time in a bedroom would go," Kiera said under her breath as she stared up at brainwashed man before her.

Barry grunted and lunged at Telegirl. Kiera guessed where he was aiming after reading his mind and she rolled to the other side of the bed. She then turned back to face him and before he could try another attack she reached out and placed her hand on his chest. Kiera looked him straight in the eyes as she used the contact to enter his mind. Barry didn't move, but instead stared back at her. Kiera felt his heart beat wildly through his thin shirt. She felt his intense rage flood through her, taking over every fiber of her being. Telegirl shook her head, trying to push the emotions out of her mind and focus on his mind.

 _Barry, please help me! Please let me in. I'm trying to help you! You know me. I'm Kiera. Kiera Taylor. I'm your friend! Remember our fight against Tidal Wave? And Nightsense? Remember the date on the rooftop?_ She tried to keep her mental voice soft and calm as she spoke to him. She felt him start to relax against her hand as he started to remember. Kiera smiled softly as she looked in his eyes. As he relaxed, Kiera was able to enter deeper into his mind.

Trying to navigate through Barry's mind was much more difficult than usual. She tried to search for anything out of the ordinary and sensed the blocks in his mind; his memories seemed scattered and fragmented. Kiera guessed it had to do with Ruby Siren's mental control over Barry.

Kiera tried to remove one of the blocks in his mind and suddenly she felt a strong wave of nausea, but she didn't stop trying. She had to help him. She had to show him she was one of the good guys and so was he. Kiera continued worked on demolishing the mind blocks.

As she finished, they closed their eyes and the surfaced memories flashed before both of their eyes all at once; all of Barry's memories of being The Flash, the times he saved the city from evil and how they met and had a date on top of the tallest building in Central City. The two Meta-humans gasped, as the memories were finished, intense emotions flooding their minds. Kiera pulled her hand off Barry's chest and opened her eyes.

 _Remember now?_ Kiera asked him, mentally.

Barry blinked, trying to process all the information that Kiera freed from his mind and then nodded. Barry pointed to his top lip as he looked at Kiera's. She quickly put her finger to her lip and looked down as she pulled it back. Dark red blood clung to her finger. All that effort to free his mind from the villain's grasp had made her brain pound and her nose bleed. She quickly wiped the blood from her lip.

Barry glanced over at the suit that was still waiting patiently on the closet door. In a red blur, he ran to it and changed into it before returning to stand before the bed, hands on his hips as if to show of his heroic suit.

Kiera smiled widely as The Flash now stood above her. "The Flash is back!" she said to the two anxiously awaiting scientists that were sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting to hear what was going on.

Barry and Kiera grinned winder as they heard the cheers through their earpieces. The Flash helped Telegirl off the bed.

"Where did she go?" Barry asked as he looked around the bedroom.

"I knew you'd miss me, Flashie," came a smooth silky voice.

The Flash and Telegirl continued to look around, trying to locate Ruby Siren.

Suddenly the villain floated over a pile of broken glass piled in front of the bathroom's entrance and landed in the bedroom, hands on her hips.

"Oh great, she can fly too," Kiera mumbled as she watched.

The Flash blurred into a red line as he ran towards Ruby Siren. She held out her hand formed as if holding a ball in The Flash's direction and smirked. The Flash stopped in his tracks and looked down at his suit confused.

 _Barry? What happened? What did she do?_ Kiera asked, wondering why he had stopped. She quickly ran towards him, seeing The Flash's confused face, and pushed her arm out, her palm parallel with the woman's body as she tried to use her Telekinesis to push the woman away. Ruby Siren didn't move this time. She turned to Telegirl and smirked as she tapped the side of her head. Kiera's eyes widen as she realized her usual tricks weren't working on the other Meta-human. Somehow she must have been able to focus and stop the attack. Kiera screamed in frustration as she made the clear shield fly towards the woman. The shield slammed into Ruby Siren, causing the villain to fly backwards and into the glass shower at the far end of the bathroom.

Telegirl turned to The Flash. "Are you okay?" she whispered. The Flash looked at her from behind his mask and opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it again, not sure what to say.

"Do you know who I am?" Kiera asked softly, praying Ruby Siren hadn't poisoned his mind against her again.

Barry nodded and looks down at his gloved hands as he held them out in front of him. "What am I wearing?"

"You are The Flash. Don't you remember?" Kiera responded.

Before Barry can respond Ruby Siren angrily jumped out of the ruined shower. Barry ran- at a regular human's speed- at the villain and tried to punch her. The fight was now more evenly matched, without The Flash's speed; most likely what the woman wanted. Ruby Siren tackled Barry and turned around before pushing him into the damaged shower. Barry lunged forward, trying to land another punch, but Ruby Siren skillfully blocked it and quickly punched him in the jaw. Barry groaned in pain and while he was disoriented, Ruby Siren backed up and did a roundhouse kick, causing The Flash to slam backwards against the shower's wall. The force in which The Flash hit the wall, caused it to crack and start to crumble.

Telegirl ran towards the two, trying to help Barry. Before she can reach them, Ruby Siren landed another kick to his chest and The Flash slammed into the wall again, harder this time, which caused the wall to crumble behind him. As the wall gave out behind him, he lost his balance and fell backwards.

"No!" Kiera screamed as she watched The Flash fall, disappearing from view.


	16. Chapter 16

**WRITER'S NOTE: Thank you all for waiting so patiently!  
I have to thank my friend, _highlander348, for helping me with this chapter._**

 **A couple of you left more questions in your reviews, so I'll answer them here.**

 **highlander348 asked if Ruby Siren has Telekinesis and if it's as strong as Telegirl's.  
** **Well you'll find out in this chapter (:**

 **Ravenmore45 asked if Kiera's Telekinesis is getting stronger.  
Yes, it does every time she uses it- especially when her emotions run high (like when she fell off the building and focused on making herself fly).  
** **Ravenmore45 also asked if she can lift a car and throw it.** **  
Well I haven't thought of her going and lifting a car, but she is getting stronger, so maybe we will see her do that later on. You'll see more of her practicing with her Telekinesis and using it in different ways in Chapter 17 or 18, I guarantee it!**

 **And if you want to see what the house looks like, here is a picture of the closest thing I could find to how I imagined the mansion (take out all of the spaces and 'X's in the link).**

 _hXXttXXp : / /specials-ima ges. forbesimg . cXoXm/ im a ge serve/02jD9fP0jo42j/0x600 .jXpXg?fi t=sca le & backg round= 000000_

 _ **Anyways, enjoy and please tell me what you think! (:**_

* * *

As The Flash fell through the crumbling shower wall and out of sight, Kiera's heart skipped a beat and another scream stuck in her throat. Her mind immediately went to the worst cause scenario. Not thinking about anything besides Barry, Kiera rushed towards the hole in the wall. Telegirl stopped at the edge and looked down, trying to see where he landed and if he was all right. She raised her hand to block the sudden bright orange light that came in through the broken wall as she looked out. Below her she saw the first floor's large living room that she passed earlier. Kiera glanced to her right, to the source of the bright light, and saw large glass windows that let in the light from the backyard and the setting sun off in the distance as it peeked over Central City's skyline.

Kiera glanced down below her quickly, trying to find where The Flash had fallen. She was too late to try to help Barry slowly float to the ground. She saw he had fallen on a long couch angled towards the giant windows and sighed, relieved at seeing he hadn't landed on the hard floor. She knew if he had he probably would have broken most of the bones in his body. Barry's pained groan and the throbbing ache spreading through her own back told her he was still very much alive and in a lot of pain.

"I'm comi-" Before Kiera could finish the sentence, she felt someone grab her arm and yank her backwards. She gasped and turned around just in time to see a fist come right at her. Telegirl bit her cheek hard as the blow made her jaw move and she stumbled backwards. A metallic taste lingered on her tongue and she wiped blood from her mouth onto the sleeve of her suit. Telegirl quickly made her shield fly through the air to protect her self from another hit as she turned to face her opponent.

Ruby Siren angrily stepped forward and tried to kick the shield away, but it didn't budge. Telegirl stood with her back to the hole in the wall, as if guarding Flash who lay injured several feet below her.

The villain stepped away from the shield and watched her enemy for a moment as she caught her breath. The two Meta-humans stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Through Ruby Siren's dark mask, Kiera could see the woman was starting to get annoyed with her; her eyes narrowing and she clenched her jaw.

"You won't win!" Kiera shouted over the shield at Ruby Siren.

The woman smirked in response. "Oh? You're a fortune teller also?" the woman teased as she looked at the younger woman before her.

Kiera shook her head. "No. I'm just going to make sure you lose," she replied.

Ruby Siren laughed. "We'll see about that," she growled as she lunged forward and kicked the shield again. Ruby Siren backed up a step and focused on the non-moving shield. Kiera's mind suddenly felt a pull and saw her shield was starting to move. She glanced over at the villain before returning to the shield and focused on keeping it in front of her.

The two women fought over the shield, using only their Telekinetic powers. Kiera struggled to keep it away from the woman, her body already aching from Barry's and her own injuries. She closed her eyes as she focused on only the floating shield between them. She put out a hand, so it was parallel with the device as she tried to match the other woman's pulls.

Ruby Siren smirked, seeing Telegirl's mistake and stepped toward one of the bathroom's counters as she continued to pull the shield with her mind. She grabbed an object and threw it at her unsuspecting opponent.

Telegirl suddenly felt an object fly threw the air towards her. She opened her eyes quickly and moved her head just in time. She looked over her shoulder and saw a pair of slender metal scissors sticking out of a piece of the wall behind her. She quickly turned her head back to the woman before her, her eyes wide in surprise.

Ruby Siren used the distraction to take control of the shield, she swung her arm to the side and the shield followed. Before Kiera could take a hold of it, the shield flew to her left, smashing through a window above a large bathtub and falling to the ground outside.

The two women slowly looked from the broken window back to each other. Kiera's heart sped up as she realized there wasn't anything protecting her from the villain anymore.

In a blink, Ruby Siren was charging at her; Telegirl planted her feet and readied her self for the incoming attack. Ruby Siren let out an angry scream as she pushed off the ground and hurled herself at the younger woman. Telegirl stepped back at the terrifying sight and her foot slipped on the edge of the shower's broken tile floor. She gasped as she started to fall. Kiera quickly cleared her mind, like she'd practiced several times before and thought about catching her own body. Telegirl's body stopped a few feet from the living room's floor and hovered above it. Kiera let out a sigh of relief and made her body fly up near the opening where Ruby Siren stood watching.

Telegirl hovered several feet from the hole in the wall on the second floor and watched the villain before her. Ruby Siren narrowed her eyes and launched off the shower's base, aiming for the woman floating in the living room. Telegirl responded by quickly making her self fly backwards, so Ruby Siren wouldn't reach her.

Gravity took over and the black-haired woman started to fall towards the living room floor. Having Telekinesis also, she barely slowed her descent, before hitting the marble floor. Ruby Siren pushed off the ground as she tried the same trick Telegirl had done a minute before. Not having as much practice as Telegirl, she struggled to lift her self. After a few tries, Ruby Siren flew up and stopped a few feet before Kiera.

"Two can play this game," the woman said as she smirked. Ruby Siren used her abilities to fly towards Telegirl. She aimed a fist in the other woman's direction as she flew towards her. Telegirl moved her body to her right, easily dodging the villain's attack.

"Kiera?" Caitlin's voice asked in Kiera's ear.

Ruby Siren quickly spun herself around and aimed herself at Telegirl again. Kiera quickly dodged the attacks and then flew at her, landing a kick to the struggling Meta-human's stomach. The momentum sent Ruby Siren flying backwards into one of the large glass windows at the west side of living room. The glass shattered and the villain fell backwards into the mansion's backyard.

"I'm here," Kiera responded to the young scientist as she watched her opponent disappear outside.

"We lost all communication for several minutes. What happened? Barry's vitals are spiking!"

Kiera quickly looked down at where The Flash had fallen on the couch several minutes earlier. He wasn't moving and his eyes were closed, but Kiera could sense he was still alive.

"He was thrown from the second story. I think he might have broken a rib or two and a slight concussion," Kiera said as she guessed from the pain in her own body that she knew was from Barry's injuries. "I'm going down to check on him."

Telegirl flew down to the couch. "Barry? Barry? Can you hear me?" Kiera whispered as she landed and kneeled down beside him. "Can you get up? You need to get up! I need your help! I can't fight her alone," She glanced out at the backyard for any signs of Ruby Siren before returning her gaze to Barry. Kiera guessed by Ruby Siren's precise kicks and punches that the villain had some sort of training and Kiera knew that if she had to continue fighting her alone, her luck would eventually run out and she might not leave this mansion alive. Even though Kiera had better control over her Telekinesis than the villain, she knew she'd need more than just that to win.

A few seconds later, Barry groaned a response and slowly opened his eyes. "What happened?"

"Ruby Siren-"

"That's her name?" he asked as he slowly repositioned himself on the couch.

"Yes… well that's what we named her. Anyway, she pushed you through the wall-" Kiera paused as she looked up at the broken wall above them. "-and you fell down here."

"That explains why my back hurts," Barry muttered, wincing as he moved.

"Do you remember who you are?" Kiera asked quickly as she remembered Ruby Siren had done something to his mind before she kicked him off the edge.

"I, uh…" He glanced down at the lightning bolt symbol on his chest.

"You're The Flash, remember? You can run really fast and-"

"I'm just a C.S.I.," Barry interrupted her, confusion written on his face. "What am I doing here?"

Kiera frowned, realizing Ruby Siren had blocked his Meta-human memories again. She closed her eyes as she took his gloved hand into her own. She entered his memories and quickly worked on reversing what the woman had done to his mind. This time it was easier, as she knew what to look for and how to remove them. Barry's Flash memories flooded back a moment later and Barry inhaled sharply after they were finished.

"Second time watching his 'movie' and still no popcorn," Barry joked as he opened his eyes.

Kiera smiled; relieved he was himself again and helped him get up.

"He's fine," She relayed back to the scientists.

"Man, you scared us for a moment, Barry!" Cisco said as he leaned toward microphone.

Barry laughed. "I've had worse days."

"I think I might be able to protect your mind from Ruby Siren's control," Kiera said suddenly as an idea came to her.

"Let's try it then," Barry nodded.

Kiera nodded back and closed her eyes. Still holding each other's hands, Kiera easily entered Barry's mind and tried her idea.

A minute later, they opened their eyes. "Let's finish this," Barry said. Before he could take a step, Kiera leaned in and kissed him softly.

Barry pulled back after the brief kiss and grinned.

"I've missed you," Kiera stated as she opened her eyes and looked at him.

Barry's grin widened and he opened his mouth to respond, but then Kiera blinked and he was gone. Telegirl looked where he once stood and frowned, confused.

"Was it something I sa-?" she asked as she turned around, stopping when she saw Flash standing behind her with his back to her. Her lips parted slightly as she looked over his shoulder and saw he was holding a pair of small hedge clippers in front of him as if he had just caught it. Kiera looked from his hand to the where the weapon had come from and saw Ruby Siren standing in front of the broken window, catching her breath. The woman's eyes narrowed and her hands formed into fists at her side as stared at Flash. Kiera put what she saw together in her mind and quickly realized the villain had thrown the garden tool at her, intending to kill her. Barry had seen the hurled object behind her in slow motion and used his superspeed to stop it before it could impale her.

"Th… Thank you," Kiera whispered to Barry, still slightly stunned.

Barry nodded a 'welcome', still keeping his eyes on Ruby Siren. He tossed the clippers across the room as Telegirl moved out to stand beside him. The only sound in the living room was an echo of the clippers hitting the marble floor with a metallic thud.

The two heroes readied themselves as they watched the villain on the other side of the room. Kiera searched the yard behind Ruby Siren with her mind, trying to find her shield that had flown out the bathroom window upstairs. Finally finding it, she made it silently rise from the concrete ground outside.

 _Do it._ Barry said to her mentally, sensing what she was planning to do.

With Barry's consent, Kiera rose her hand slowly and then quickly flicked it towards Ruby Siren. The shield flew through the air crashing into the woman's back, causing her to shout in surprise and pain before falling forwards onto the marble floor. Barry used the distraction to run to her and pull her up roughly. He dragged her up and slammed her hard against the closest wall.

The Flash pinned her to the wall and she groaned, but recovered quickly. Ruby Siren leaned towards his face, smirking. "Oh, _now_ you want to do it?" she teased. "In front of your girlfriend? You like an audience, don't you?" she smirked again and tried to go in for a kiss.

The Flash pulled his face away before she could smash her lips against his. He narrowed his eyes and slammed her against the wall again, anger rising as she taunted him.

Kiera's knuckles turned white and her fingernails dug into her palms as her hands formed firm fists; the other woman's flirtatiousness making Kiera's blood boil. She stepped toward the other two Meta-humans and stared at the woman.

"Who are you under that mask?" Telegirl asked.

Ruby Siren didn't look away from Flash's eyes as she spoke, "Your boyfriend knows, but not for long..." She leaned in and this time succeeded at capturing Flash's mouth with her own. As she kissed him, she used her powers to fight off Telegirl's attempt at protecting Barry's mind and made him forget what she looked like without her black and red mask. Telegirl rushed forward and in a desperate attempt to separate them, she kicked the other woman in the ribs.

Ruby Siren screamed in pain and lost her focus, allowing The Flash to pull away from her lips. He pushed his forearm against her upper chest to pin her against the wall and put more room between them.

Kiera glanced at Barry, to see if he was okay and without any words asked him if the villain had succeeded in taking away his memories of her. Barry frowned and nodded at Kiera. Telegirl angrily clenched her jaw and punched Ruby Siren's cheek as rage took over. She was angrier with herself than with Ruby Siren, for she failed to protect Barry's mind from the villain and as a result they lost vital information.

"And I know his secret identity," The woman said after recovering from the attacks. " _Barry Allen_ ," Ruby Siren said in a smooth voice as she smirked and looked at Meta-human before her. "It really rolls of the tongue, doesn't i-?" She was cut off by another blow from Telegirl. As Ruby Siren brought her head back up, Kiera placed a thumb on her jaw line and her index and middle finger on her temple. Before the villain could pull away, Kiera entered her mind and searched for her memories of Barry's true identity. She plucked them from the woman's mind and Ruby Siren opened her eyes startled. The women gasped as Kiera pulled her hand away. The power it took to wipe the woman's memories made Kiera lightheaded and she stumbled backwards a couple steps.

"Are you okay?" Barry asked as he watched her stagger.

Kiera put her hand to her forehead and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," she managed as the headache started to subside.

Ruby Siren grumbled, frustrated that Telegirl was able to take her leverage over the heroes away from her. She narrowed her eyes at Kiera, which made Flash slam her against the wall again.

"Now I'll ask you again, who are you under that mask?" Telegirl asked as she stepped forward, putting on her best stern face. She reached forward to touch her arm in an attempt to enter her mind again and find the information, but the woman squirmed under Flash's grasp, trying to get away. He tightened his grip, pushing her back against the wall to help Telegirl reach her. Ruby Siren narrowed her eyes at Flash, now unable to move. Telegirl touched her arm and closed her eyes as she entered the woman's mind. She searched for information about the villain. She needed to find something, anything that would help her figure out who she was.

Suddenly she felt herself stop in Ruby Siren's mind and the memories started to fade.

Kiera was being blocked out of Ruby Siren's memories. Before Kiera could think, her mind felt a push, as if she was being shoved. She gasped and stepped back, removing her hand from the woman's arm. She opened her eyes and looked over at the villain puzzled by what just happened. Ruby Siren just smirked.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Barry asked as he watched Telegirl's face grow pale and she stumbled backward again.

"Yeah, I- She-" Kiera winced, feeling her mind throb from the attack. She imagined this feeling was similar to what one of her 'Brain Blast' attacks must feel like.

"She pushed me out of her mind before I could find anything," Kiera managed as she slowly lifted her head.

"Kiera your brain activity spiked. I don't know if you can take another attack like that," Caitlin warned from behind her computer screen.

"I'm fine. Really," Kiera insisted as she straightened herself.

Seeing The Flash was now distracted, Ruby Siren grabbed his arm and pushed him off of her. He scrambled backwards and she kicked him in the chest, sending Flash further back which allowed her time to escape from his grasp.

It all happened in a blink of an eye, not giving a still-dazed-Telegirl any time to react. She saw Ruby Siren free herself, and anger flooded Kiera's mind. She lunged toward the smirking villain and reached out a hand, trying to grab onto Ruby Siren's mask. Ruby Siren ducked easily. Before Kiera could even register the dodge, however, Ruby Siren threw a precise punch to her ribs, sending ripples of pain through her torso.

Telegirl inhaled sharply as her brain registered the pain and she stumbled back. The villain followed with a fish raised. Ruby Siren tried to land another blow, but Telegirl managed to duck this time. Kiera scrambled and remembered some of Barry's memories of him fighting. She tried to mirror his actions as the villain continued to come at her. Kiera stumbled back and hit a window hard as Ruby Siren managed a few more successful kicks and jabs, before Kiera was able to perfect the technique. Telegirl kicked the villain backwards and The Flash ran towards them, recovered from the escape. He sent a powerful punch her way, but the woman managed to avoid it skillfully and then tried to kick him. With his superspeed, Barry was able to step back and land a blow.

Telegirl stepped back from the fight and took a few deep breaths as she tried to catch her breath. She winced as she felt pain surge through her body, some from her own injuries and some from Barry's. She wiped blood from her chin and looked back at the fight. Kiera saw a blur of yellow as The Flash easily avoided every blow Ruby Siren tried to aim his way. The woman screamed in frustration and narrowed her eyes at Flash. Kiera quickly used their connection to block his mind from any mind control, this time focusing harder on her task.

Barry stepped forward to run around her, but his legs suddenly moved slowly. He looked down at his red clad legs, confused. Flash tried to move them again, but he still couldn't walk fast enough to use his speed. The Flash struggled to take another step as if he were suddenly stuck in a tub of molasses. He looked back up quickly and saw Ruby Siren smirk.

"What have you done?" He shouted as he continued to move forward slowly.

"Oh, Flashie, I just leveled the playing field," she smirked as she stepped forward and sucker punched Barry in the jaw. His head whipped to the side and he groaned in pain.

Telegirl narrowed her eyes and outstretched her arms quickly toward the villain. Using her Telepathic abilities, Kiera hurriedly entered the woman's mind and tried to stop her Telekinetic control over Flash's legs.

Ruby Siren closed her eyes and focused on removing Telegirl from her mind, which gave Flash freedom over his legs again. In a blur of yellow, he ran to the villain and easily landed a powerful blow to her stomach. The speed in which he did it, made Ruby Siren fly back into another window. The glass shattered against her back and she fell onto the outdoor patio.

"How do we defeat her?" Kiera whispered as she stepped toward Barry to make sure he was okay.

"I can run her back to the pipeline and come back for you," he whispered back as he gestured he was okay.

"She could use her Telekinesis again. Even though it's weaker than mine, she has the abilities to block me from her mind. I might not be able to stop her next time."

"I thought you might need help taking her down. Look in your left pouch, Kiera," Caitlin interrupted.

Kiera opened the small zippered pouch on her left hip and saw several protected sheer syringes inside. From what Kiera could see, it looked like there were six total; four contained a dark red liquid that looked a lot like blood, and two held some kind of clear liquid. They all were small; only about the length of Kiera's index finger and they had two different colored plastic caps covering the short needle and black lettering on the body of each syringe.

"Do you see the blue-capped syringes?" the young doctor asked.

"Yes. They have some kind of clear liquid?"

"Take one out. It's Phenobarbital. It will sedate her so you can bring her to the Pipeline," Caitlin explained quickly.

"Thanks. Will do," Barry said, having heard the whole conversation. He turned to the window where the villain had disappeared to make sure she wasn't approaching.

 _Barry, catch!_ Kiera said mentally as she took out one of the blue-capped syringes and tossed in Barry's direction. _You'll be able to inject it into her easier than I will._

The Flash caught it easily and took off the cap as he headed toward the broken windows.

Ruby Siren heard approaching footsteps as she slowly got up from the bed of broken glass. She quickly ducked behind the chairs surrounding a glass table and waited for her opponent to reach the right spot before she jumped out. The woman launched herself onto Flash's back and tightened her arms around his neck, trying to strangle him. He quickly brought the syringe up in front of him and jabbed it into her lower arm.

Ruby Siren gasped at the unexpected attack and the tranquillizer started to work, causing her to loosen her grip. She fell off his back and stumbled a few steps before practically throwing herself into The Flash's arms. Telegirl walked out just in time to see Barry catch the woman.

"Do I want to know?" She teased as she stepped over the glass, causing a loud crunching sound.

Barry laughed and carefully picked up the woman, who was now completely relaxed and barely moving. "The drug worked. Let's get her back to the lab," he said, avoiding the subject.

The Flash handed her the empty syringe as he passed and made his way back inside. Kiera placed it back in her suit's side pouch and quickly followed him.

"Glad this family's rich, they will have to do a lot of repairs when they get home from their vacation," Kiera mumbled as she looked around at the wrecked mansion. Water dripped from the hole high up on the living room wall. Dust, pieces of wall, and glass were scattered around the living room and most of the floor-to-ceiling windows were broken, letting in chilly air.

Kiera suddenly recalled something from earlier. "Uh, what did she mean by 'Oh, [now] you want to do it'?" she asked, remembering what the villain had said after Barry pinned her to the wall.

Barry's eyes widen, thankful she was behind him and could not see his face. "Uh, not sure exactly. Guess she tried to get in my pants before…" he trailed off and then realized what he said. "But clearly she didn't!" he insisted, his face now almost as red as his suit.

Kiera held in a laugh, her cheeks also turned pink. "But she wanted to," she mumbled, anger rising as she thought of Ruby Siren trying to force him to sleep with her. She glared at the almost unconscious woman in Barry's arms; silently thinking of how many different ways the villain could be killed, on accident obviously.

The two heroes made it through the damaged house and out a side door. As they walked through the gate, Kiera finally spoke again, breaking the awkward silence. "The van's parked over there. I guess I'll drive it back and you take her to the Pipeline."

Barry nodded. "See you there." Then he was gone, sending Kiera's hair back in a gust of wind.

* * *

Kiera parked the van outside of S.T.A.R. Labs fifteen minutes later and walked inside. As she entered the room, she took off her mask and the slender monitoring headpiece. Kiera sighed in relief as she sat down in a nearby chair; glad the battle against Ruby Siren was over.

Kiera suddenly noticed how quiet the large room was. She glanced around and realized the room she was sitting in and the adjoining rooms were empty. Where was the team? Kiera stood up quickly, her mind immediately going to the worst-case scenario. What if Ruby Siren had somehow recovered from the sedation and mind controlled the team before kidnapping Barry again?

Kiera snatched up her mask as she ran past the table and out into the hallway. She glanced around and then ran towards the pipeline.

 _Barry? Can you hear me? Where are you? Are you okay?_ Kiera asked mentally as she ran down corridor as fast as she could.

 _What? Yeah, why? We are in the pipeline securing Ruby Siren._

Kiera exhaled and slowed her pace; relieved to hear they weren't in danger. She knew she'd over reacted, but she couldn't lose Barry again or the team, and she couldn't have Ruby Siren free in the world again, not with her abilities.

Kiera walked into the pipeline and saw the team. Barry was standing right outside of the open cell, watching Cisco and Caitlin taking care of Ruby's almost unconscious body.

"It's not working," Cisco muttered as Kiera walked up the slanted walkway to get a better look at what they were doing.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Barry turned his head to greet her before returning his gaze to the scientists working before him. Kiera followed his gaze and saw they were carefully trying to pull Ruby Siren's mask off her face.

"We need to ID her, but it's impossible without being able to see her whole face," Caitlin explained.

"And the mask won't come off! It's like she's somehow preventing us from pulling it off," Cisco said as he tried again to pull the black and red mask off the woman's face, but gave up with a sigh.

Kiera frowned. "You mean like mentally? She's somehow using her Telekinesis to keep the mask on?"

Barry nodded as he folded his arms.

"I wonder if she ever takes it off. Does she showers with the mask on…?" Cisco mumbled and then looked up at the others, "Did I just say that out loud?"

Caitlin gave him a look that told him he had and he awkwardly apologized.

"It's been a long day," Barry said as he glanced at his phone. "Let's all get some rest and try again tomorrow. She's not going anywhere."

The team nodded and Caitlin and Cisco walked out of the cell. Cisco pressed a button on the screen to their right and the cell locked shut. "'til tomorrow," he said to the villain and they all walked out of the pipeline.

Kiera pulled Barry back from the other two scientists, who were busy discussing ideas on how to get Ruby Siren's mask of, so she could talk to him.

As they walked several strides behind Cisco and Caitlin, Kiera glanced over at him and whispered, "Are you okay?" She noticed he had a cut on his lip and a few darkening bruises scattered across his face and arms that had already been cared for before she had arrived. She looked down at her own bloody suit and a new wave of aching pains shot through her body. Kiera had the answer even before he opened his mouth.

Barry picked up on the fact she already knew. "We all just need rest. I'll- we'll be fine in the morning." His whole body ached, most from his own injuries, but some coming from hers. He knew his body would be healed in a few hours, and he hoped hers would also.

Kiera nodded her head at his answer. "Rest," she repeated and took a deep breath.

The team entered the room designated as The Flash's headquarters and Caitlin insisted on taking care of Kiera's injuries.

Cisco and Barry left the lab and went home to rest, leaving the two women alone. Caitlin helped Kiera out of her suit, before cleaning and bandaging her wounds and helping her into her street clothes.

About twenty minutes later, they had finished and also departed.

Kiera arrived in her apartment after a short cab ride. As she opened the door and stepped in, she heard something crumple under her shoe. Kiera looked down as she lifted her foot and saw several white envelopes with the words 'Eviction notice' in large red letters stamped on the front. She somehow hadn't noticed them before.

"No, no, no…" she mumbled and picked them up. Kiera closed the door and opened the envelopes quickly. Her eyes scanned over the letters and saw the words 'You are hereby given an eviction notice to vacate your apartment within thirty days… You have violated your rent when you refused payment… vacate within twenty days… within fifteen days…'

Kiera inhaled sharply as she finished. "Great…" she muttered under her breath. She had recently become a Central City hero, which made her life turn upside down, causing her to lose her job and now her apartment. It didn't seem fair.

She groaned and threw the papers onto the kitchen counter before raiding her almost bare fridge for food. Kiera sighed and hungrily downed a microwaved container of soup and some stale chips before collapsing on her bed. She told herself she'd figure out what she was going to do tomorrow and let dreams take her away from her problems.

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE: Just a side note** **, I am NOT a doctor or have any medical training, so I do as much research as I can and ask my dad (who's in the medical field) before I put anything medical in my story. The drug they use on Ruby Siren does not work that fast in real life, I am aware. I couldn't find any tranquilizer or sedative that works instantly and does not make the patient unable to breath on their own. I did the best I could. Sorry about that.**


	17. Chapter 17

**WRITER'S NOTE: Hey everyone. I am SO sorry this chapter is so late. I was pretty busy last week, plus I sort of had writer's block while writing this chapter. I knew what I wanted to have happen in this chapter, I just couldn't seem to figure out how to write it. I apologize that this chapter isn't written as well as most of the other chapters in this story.**

* * *

Even though they had just defeated an evil Meta-human who had kidnapped The Flash and made him steal for her own pleasure, Kiera didn't look happy as she entered the S.T.A.R. Lab's cortex bridge which was converted into The Flash's headquarters the next morning.

Barry picked up on it immediately, having the feeling of hopelessness since late last night, though he didn't know why he felt that way until now. "What's wrong?" he asked as he watched her sit down and stare at the floor, lost in her own thoughts.

Kiera glanced up, hearing Barry's voice. "I'm being evicted from my apartment, because I can't pay for it anymore. I lost my job and now I'm losing my apartment." Kiera ran her hands through her wavy hair to push it off her face. "I don't know what I'm going to do," she managed as she tried to keep a hold on her emotions. Kiera suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion hit her from the fight yesterday and closed her eyes for a second, try to ignore it.

"What?" Caitlin said as the two scientists looked up from their work when they heard the news and looked over at the struggling woman. "That's horrible!" the young doctor added and frowned.

Barry quickly walked to Kiera and lowered himself to the ground to be level with her. He took her hand in his and looked into her eyes. "We'll fix this. We'll find a way. It's what we do," he said with a compassionate smile, attempting to cheer her up.

She took a deep breath, it was shakier than she expected, and nodded. "Yeah," she managed.

"Kiera, if you'd like, you can stay at my place while you figure out what you're going to do," Caitlin said with a similar smile.

Kiera looked up at her friends and managed a smile. "Thank you. That's very kind of you. I'll owe you one." She wasn't used to having such caring friends. Kiera was used to being alone and bottling in her emotions, fears, and troubles. If it wasn't for Caitlin's compassionate offer, Kiera realized she'd probably have to live on the streets until she could find another job.

"You don't owe me anything. I'm happy to lend you my couch for as long as you need it. And if you'd like, you can work here with us."

"I'm not a scientist, I don't know how I could help."

"You could answer phone calls, file papers, help us clean up, and so on," Caitlin explained with a smile.

"I…That's-"

Before Kiera could thank Caitlin for the offer and tell her she didn't want to be the lab's charity case, Barry mentally butted in. _You should try it. Trust me, Caitlin won't take no for an answer._

Kiera glanced at Barry, still unsure. After a minute of thinking, she turned back to the other woman in the room and smiled. "Okay, I'll do it, but on one condition."

"Name it," Caitlin said, smiling.

"I don't have to clean the bathrooms!" Kiera said and then realized another thing she wouldn't do, "-or be a lab rat for experiments!" They all laughed and assured her she wouldn't be.

"Deal," Dr. Snow said as she put out a hand. Kiera reached out hers and they shook hands.

"And what about Ruby? Have you had any success at taking her mask off?" Kiera changed the subject.

Barry sighed and shook his head as he stood up.

"We're still keeping her sedated," Cisco said and nodded toward one of the large screens on the far wall. Kiera looked over and saw camera footage of the villain lying on her side in the small cell. "She's somehow still managing to use her Telekinesis to keep the mask on. We don't know how or why... It's very strange," he added as he shook his head.

"No luck at IDing her then?" Kiera asked as she watched the sleeping villain on the monitor.

"No. We've tried every database we could hack into," Caitlin said as she sat back down at the desk. "But either they can't identify her through her mask or she's not in any records," she shrugged and frowned.

"Felicity might be able to help us," Barry said. Caitlin nodded and Barry added, "I'll try calling her," before taking out his phone and walking out into the hallway.

"What can I do?" Kiera asked and stood back up.

"Let me look at your injuries and if they aren't healing fast we can do another transfusion," Caitlin said as she stood up and led her to the Med Bay.

The young doctor examined Kiera injuries; the Meta-human had a fractured rib, a badly battered left hand, a swollen jaw, a small laceration that almost connected her cheekbone to her jaw, and several dark bruises scattered all over her body. Caitlin noted they were healing at a normal human's speed, so she started the transfusion with some of Flash's blood she had saved from earlier.

"Dude, we should celebrate! We defeated Ruby Siren!" Cisco said, as Barry returned, having not been able to get a hold of Felicity. The two women looked at the door as they entered.

"Celebrate?" Kiera laughed. "What did you have in mind?"

"Bowling and drinks after!" Cisco said as he pointed and grinned, his excitement to party was rising.

Barry laughed and shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

"I don't know…" Caitlin said, doubtfully as she placed the blood bag down on the counter to let the transfusion start. "The blood won't be in your system that long before tonight. Bowling will most likely just aggravate your injuries."

"I can deal with it, Doc. I need to pack my apartment, but that won't be too hard. I don't have much stuff. And tonight will be fun. I'll stop if the pain is too much," Kiera said to the young doctor, trying to convince her she would be able to go.

Caitlin sighed and looked at the others in the room. They all looked at her, practically begging her to allow it. The doctor finally gave in. "Fine, but promise me, you'll tell us if your pain worsens and we'll stop."

"I promise," Kiera said and smiled widely at Cisco and Barry.

After the transfusion was done, Kiera insisted on seeing Ruby Siren. The team knew better than to argue.

Barry and Kiera dressed in their suits and made their way down to the Pipeline.

 _I'll be right here if you need me,_ Barry said mentally as he stopped at the entrance. Kiera nodded as she glanced over her shoulder before walking up the slight incline.

Telegirl stopped at the monitor and took a deep breath. She tapped the screen and the large round door ascended into the ceiling above. Kiera stepped forward and stopped before the thick glass doors that allowed her to look in on the captured villain.

Ruby Siren was lying on the floor of the cell, her back to the door. Her long wavy red-highlighted black hair looked like a blanket spread out across the cell's floor around her head. The woman didn't move as Kiera neared the cell. Flashbacks of yesterday's fight entered Kiera's mind and she found it hard to believe this sleeping woman was the same one that almost killed her. From what Kiera could see, she looked so peaceful.

"The sedation should be wearing off any time now," Caitlin explained in Telegirl's ear.

Several minutes later, Ruby woke and glanced around at the blue patterned walls around her. She suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end and she froze. The woman wasn't able to shake the feeling of someone watching her as she laid there as still as possible.

After a couple minutes she slowly pushed herself up, wincing as she was reminded of her many injuries. She turned her head and narrowed her eyes as she saw her opponent standing in front of her. Telegirl's stance was confident; feet shoulder length apart, arms crossed across her chest, and a slight smirk across her masked face.

The villain forgot about her pain and quickly got to her feet, lunging towards the other woman. Ruby Siren realized there were glass doors separating them and right before she slammed into them, she held out her hands to stop herself. She cried out angrily and pounded on the thick glass with her fists, not caring about the pain it caused.

"I will get out of here! You have not won! You will suffer for this!"

Telegirl's smirk grew across her face as she watched the woman desperately trying to strike fear into her, which would have worked if the villain weren't inside an impregnable prison cell.

"Isn't that what every villain says after they are defeated? Not very original…" Kiera said mockingly. Barry smirked at her response and leaned against the doorway as he watched.

Ruby Siren stopped her attempts and narrowed her eyes. She backed up, slowly outstretched her arms and focused on the doors before her. The woman closed her eyes as she tried to push them open with her mind. After a minute of trying, the woman opened her eyes and screamed in frustration at her failure to escape.

Telegirl chuckled. "You're powers won't help you get out of there."

The villain glared at her. "Where am I?" she asked as she glanced around, taking in the cell she was in.

"Somewhere where you'll never get out," Kiera smirked.

The woman angrily slammed her battered hand against the glass again.

Telegirl stepped closer. "Who are you under that mask? What's your real name?" she asked, starting the interrogation.

Ruby Siren laughed at the questions. "What are you going to do to get it out of me? Torture me? It will be a walk in the park, coming from you. Has anyone told you punch like a little girl?" the woman mocked confidently, trying to lure her opponent into opening the cell.

Kiera narrowed her eyes under her mask and took another step toward the now smirking villain.

"We _will_ find out who you are!"

"Good luck with that, sweetheart," the villain spat out. "Others have tried and all of them failed."

"We aren't like anyone you may have encountered in the past," Kiera said. "After all, we have succeeded in defeating you, so who's to say we can't also find out who you are?" Kiera added, a smile returning to her face. The Flash's smirk matched Telegirl's as he watched the two women.

Ruby Siren's eyes narrowed in response. "I'd like to see you try."

"I will unmask you! I can promise you that! Even if it takes years!" Kiera threatened, spitting out the words as if they were poison. The smirk that followed sent a brief chill down Ruby Siren's spine, but she quickly recovered and stared at Telegirl. Pure hatred emanated from Kiera's eyes like daggers thrown at the woman.

"The next time I see you, I'll know everything about you," Telegirl added as she spun on her heels.

The villain shouted out threats as her opponent walked down the slanted walkway towards Flash.

"Too scared, Flashie? Too afraid to get any closer?" Ruby Siren snickered as she turned her attention to the hero standing at the entrance. All I'll do is kiss you, I promise," she smirked at the red cladded man who had been under her control just a day earlier.

Kiera narrowed her eyes and her hands formed tight fists at her side as she stopped in her tracks. She was about to turn around to face the villain again, but she saw Barry shake his head.

 _It's not worth it. She's just trying to get under your skin, Kiera. She's secure in the cell. She can't do anything to us anymore,_ he told her mentally.

Kiera took a deep breath to calm her self and nodded at Barry. Before she could move, The Flash blurred into a yellow streak and passed Telegirl. She turned and saw him standing at the monitor.

"We've won, Ruby Siren-"

"For now," she interrupted then smirked and leaned against the glass as if to get closer to him. "Ruby Siren? Is that my pet name, Flashie? Ruby Siren…" she repeated and then smiled. "I like it."

"You had your fun, now get comfortable. You're going to be in there a while," he said as he tapped on the monitor. The large door slid down, trapping the villain inside the pipeline.

Kiera let out a sigh of relief and took off her mask. Barry pushed his own mask off as he turned to her and grinned.

"You did good. Very convincing for your first time," he said as he walked over to her.

Kiera laughed. "Well I'm not sure she thought the same."

The two tired heroes left the pipeline and walked in silence for a few steps before Kiera felt her arm being yanked. She gasped as he pulled into another hallway and gently pushed her against the wall. A smile spread across her face and he lowered his lips to hers.

 _I missed you too._ He said mentally as he broke off from the kiss.

Kiera opened her eyes and looked up at him hazily. "When you remembered who I was, that is," she teased.

He chuckled. "Yeah, thanks for that reminder."

Kiera opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could Barry's phone dinged.

He apologized and quickly took out his phone. "It's Felicity. She says we can meet her tomorrow afternoon at the Arrow lair and she'll help us ID Ruby Siren."

"Good. I hope they can help us find out who she really is," she sighed.

"We will figure it out, I promise."

Barry's phone ringed and he answered. After listening for a minute, he said, "I'll be right there," and hung up. "I've got a crime scene to go to," he told her.

Kiera nodded. "Good luck with that one! Hopefully the family isn't too angry at us for destroying their house!" she laughed. "I need to pack up my apartment. Meet you later?"

Barry grinned and nodded before disappearing into a yellow streak. Kiera went back up to the cortex and changed into her street clothes. Kiera then told the scientists, she was going to go pack and Caitlin offered to bring the lab's van after she was finished to help Kiera bring her stuff to her apartment. Kiera thanked her and took a taxi back to her apartment.

Once inside, Kiera closed the door and looked around her tiny apartment before sighing. It wasn't like he had a lot of stuff to pack. What she had told Barry on their first date was true; when she moved to Central City she only brought what her small car could carry. No furniture, no TV, no appliances; only a couple suitcases of clothes, a small box of family memorabilia and what necessities she had at her grandmother's house. Once she arrived and found this apartment, she bought cheap furniture and appliances from yard sales and Goodwill. She didn't really care what her place looked like, as she never really had anyone to share it with or invite over, so the basics were enough.

"Get this over with," she mumbled to herself.

The next few hours were tiring and boring for Kiera. She packed and cleaned as quickly as she could; though that was slower than she'd had hoped, as her healing injuries often forced her to take breaks and resort to taking a pain pill Caitlin had given her.

Kiera sat cross-legged on her small bed with random belongings spread out around her. She leaned over and grabbed a small metal picture frame from the nightstand and instantly she felt intense emotions surface. She took a deep breath as she gazed at the picture in her lap. Her slender fingers brushed over the smiling faces and memories flooded into her mind.

It had been a sunny summer day in Coast City and her family had decided to go the beach to keep cool. They had spent all day in the cool salty water and the warm sand, laughing and just enjoying the carefree atmosphere around them. In the picture, an-eight-year-old Kiera sat in the sand behind a little sandcastle that she had worked on for hours. Her wide smile showed how proud she was of her creation. Her colorful swimsuit was coated in a thin coat of damp sand and her naturally wavy blonde hair was clumped together with wet sand. On either side of her was her parents, kneeling in the sand. Her father had a kind face, bright blue eyes, short dark brown hair, and wore a blue and black patterned pair of swim trunks. Her mother's beautiful face was framed by her medium-length blonde hair, which fell over her shoulders and hid the straps of her one-piece swimsuit. Her light blue eyes shone like stars in the pictures and Kiera realized how much she was starting to look like her mother. They had the same blue eyes, full lips, and similar noses.

Kiera smiled sadly, remembering how happy they had been back that day. She ran her thumb over the metal frame as she stared at her parents. They had been murdered only about a year after this picture was taken.

"I miss you… so much," she managed as a tear fell down her cheek and splashed onto the picture. She closed her eyes and replayed a memory she often thought of when she missed her family.

The little family had decided to go to the mountains one December weekend, several years ago. A blizzard had blown in right after they had got to the rented cabin and the family had huddled by the fireplace as their power went out and left them in almost complete darkness. At first her parents had been worried; they stressed over risks the cabin might have had in the blizzard, if they'd have enough food, water, and so on, but then as they nestled together under blankets and pillows they had realized the power wasn't a necessity. They were together; safe and warm and that's all that mattered. As the little family cuddled by the fire, they ended up telling each other stories, dreams, regrets, and their fondest memories. Kiera had seen that blizzard as a blessing; a weekend that she would cherish forever.

Kiera wiped the bittersweet tears from her face and gently placed the picture in a box on the bed. She carefully packed the box with the rest of her cherished family heirlooms and placed it in the front room before returning to packing the rest of her things.

Once she was finished, she called Caitlin and then waited for her arrive. She glanced around at the nearly empty apartment. She had managed to sell what little furniture she had to some of her neighbors for a little money. The place wasn't all that special to her, just a place she slept in at night, but still she felt a sense of sadness as she looked at the bare rooms before her. This was the place that had sheltered her, protected her, and was there when she needed it. This was the place she escaped to after her grandmother's death. Kiera took a deep breath and turned toward the door as heard Caitlin knock a few minutes later.

Kiera opened the door and welcomed Caitlin in. As the two women put the first few boxes in the back of the van, wind suddenly blew past them and they turned around to see Barry standing before them, big smile on his face as if he had just won the Tripe Crown.

"Hey! Need help?" he asked.

"Actually ye-" before Kiera could finish he was gone again and in a streak of yellow, the back of the van was loaded with all of Kiera's boxes.

The women stepped back and laughed as Barry reappeared before them with an even bigger smile.

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to that," Kiera mumbled as the trio hopped in the van and drove to Caitlin's apartment.

A few minutes later, they stepped out into the chilly evening air and Barry said, "I can help you unpack!"

Kiera laughed. "Not with your superspeed, Barry! I'm-" she paused and looked at Caitlin. "We're not completely useless, you know? I might still be healing, but I can help!"

Barry nodded and chuckled.

The three of them took trips bringing the boxes up to Caitlin's apartment. Kiera only had a few boxes of belongings, so they only had to take two trips. As they set down the last of the boxes, Kiera let out a tired sigh.

"Well that was easier than I expected. Thank you again, Caitlin, for letting me stay here," she said and smiled at her new roommate.

"It's no problem."

Caitlin offered drinks and headed to the kitchen as Barry and Kiera sat down.

"How was the crime scene?" Kiera asked as she looked over at Barry who sat beside her on Caitlin's couch.

"A mess," he laughed. "Fighting crime and then having to clean up the mess is exhausting!" Barry leaned back against the couch as if suddenly realizing how tired he was.

Kiera laughed. "I can imagine. Well I know half of how you feel… literally." She repositioned herself as her still aching body told her she was also in that fight and still connected to him.

"Which is why you need to rest," Caitlin said as she entered the room just in time to hear what they were talking about. She set down three glasses of water on the small coffee table before them and sat down in a chair. They thanked her for the water as they picked them up.

"I'm feeling better, honest! Barry's blood is helping my injuries heal faster." Kiera said with a smile, trying to convince her new doctor.

"She really is," Barry said and nodded, knowing from the phantom pains in his own body that she was healing quicker than a normal human. They both gave the doctor reassuring smiles.

"And besides, I can't miss the bowling party Cisco planned tonight!" Kiera added after drinking half the glass of water.

"I don't know…" Caitlin said hesitantly as she sat in a nearby chair.  
"I promised you if I suddenly feel worse, I'll tell you and Barry will know," Kiera insisted. Caitlin sighed and gave in, causing Barry and Kiera to grin.

* * *

A little while later, Kiera walked Barry out and they stopped right outside the closed door.

He turned to her, a concerned look on his face. "Were you okay earlier? I sensed you were feeling… sad."

"Oh uh yeah, I… some feelings surfaced while I was packing and saw a picture of my family."

Barry frowned. "If you need anything, just ask," he said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm always here to listen or just keep you company if you need it."

Kiera nodded and looked at the ground for a moment as she buried the feelings again. She slowly looked up and a smile appeared. "Actually there is one thing."

"Name it," he said quickly.

"Would you like to go out with me again?" she smiled, trying to hide her unexpected nervousness, even though she knew Barry could feel it. "Since we're reunited, I realized how things can change from one day to the next and I really missed you and-" Kiera's ramblings were cut off as he leaned down and kissed her softly.

As he pulled back and opened their eyes, Kiera chuckled. "Is that a yes?"

Barry grinned and bobbed his head in response.

* * *

After a little unpacking, Caitlin and Kiera got ready and headed to the local bowling alley. They walked in and after renting bowling shoes they found Cisco and Barry already sitting behind an empty lane. They greeted the two women with a large plate of fries and they all sat down at the lane's booth.

"Iris should be here any moment," Barry said and as if on cue Iris walked up, followed by her brother Wally.

"Hey, did we miss anything?" she asked as she took a handful of fries and smiled.

"No, we just got here too," Caitlin said.

The siblings sat down beside the others. "Oh, Kiera this is my brother Wally. Wally, Kiera. Barry's new girlfriend," she teased as she grinned over at her adopted brother. Barry jokingly punched her arm and they all laughed.

"Now that we're all here, let's get started! I'll go first!" Cisco said and grinned as he stood up.

"Girls verses boys!" Iris said with a grin, after noting there were an equal amount of both.

Everyone finally agreed and then stood up to get their bowling balls. The next moment, they were all standing across from each other with the ball return between them. Kiera stood across from Barry, Caitlin across from Cisco and Iris across from Wally.

 _I bet you us girls will win!_ Kiera mentally said to Barry.

 _You think you can beat The Flash?_ Barry's chest puffed up and he grinned.

 _You know you can't use your superspeed unless you want to be flooded by fans!_ Kiera teased and laughed.

"I'm getting a Vibe," Cisco whispered to Caitlin as he pretended to get one of his Meta-human visions. "You will lose!" He grinned widely causing Caitlin to roll her eyes and laugh.

"You may be my sister, but that doesn't mean I'm going easy on you!" Wally said to Iris and she laughed.

"Don't expect me to either! I'm the bowling queen of these lanes, after all!" Iris grinned and they both laughed.

"Let's get this started!" Cisco said as he leaned down to pick up his orange bowling ball from the ball return line up. The others back up and sat back down at the lane's booth, still chuckling from their conversations.

Iris set up the monitor with everyone's names and Cisco bowled first, getting a spare on his first turn.

"Boom baby!" He shouted and pumped his fist in the air as he made his way back to the booth. His grin didn't fade as he ate ketchup covered French fries and sat back down.

Caitlin bowled next, then Wally and Iris. At his turn, Barry stood up and took his red ball from the ball return.

"Sit back and watch how it's done," he teased, looking back from where he stood at the lane. Barry skillfully pulled the ball back and swung his arm as he let go of the ball. The bowling ball practically flew down the lane and knocked all of the pins down in a loud bang.

He walked back, grinning widely, as the others clapped and laughed. Barry high-fived Cisco as he sat back down beside Kiera and nudged her to tell her it's her turn.

"Now's probably not the best time to say this, but this is only my second time bowling," Kiera admitted as she stood up.

"You've got this, Kiera! You'll have beginners luck on your side," Iris said with an encouraging smile.

Kiera grabbed her bowling ball from the return and stepped up to the lane. She took a deep breath and lowered her arm, swinging it back and then forward. The blue ball flew forward and then sped down the lane, knocking over several pins.

She turned back to the small crowd and shrugged her shoulders, knowing it wasn't the best. As Kiera waited for her ball to reappear, the team clapped and sent her words of encouragement, trying to tell her it wasn't bad.

 _Better than my first time!_ Barry said mentally and grinned, which made Kiera laugh. She glanced back and saw the group looking confused as to why she laughed. She awkwardly picked up the ball and walked back to the lane. The ball knocked down a couple more pins, giving her a score of eight.

The group continued to bowl, snack on the finger food on the table and playfully tease each other. Kiera's turn was up and as she stood she whispered to Barry. "I was just warming up." Barry chuckled at Kiera's serious, yet teasing face.

She picked up her blue bowling ball and took a deep breath. She held it close to her face and stared at the red and white pins sixty feet away, trying to mentally visualize a strike. Thirty seconds later, the ball rolled down the lane and collided with the pins. Kiera held her breath as she watched pins teeter and fall until all of them were lying on the floor.

Kiera raised her arms in the air and turned toward the group of friends. "Told you I was just warming up!" she smiled as the word ' _Strike!_ ' danced on monitor above her. The grinning Meta-human walked over to the booth and sat back down beside Barry.

"You cheated, didn't you?" Cisco whispered and tapped his temple. The reference made the group laugh and Kiera's face turned slightly pink. She glanced around the room to see if anyone heard over the loud music that was playing and then she looked at Iris's unaware brother seat, but it was empty.

"Iris and Wally went to get us some drinks," Caitlin stated as she noticed Kiera's nervousness.

Once the relief set in, Kiera looked back at Cisco and shook her head. "I did not cheat!" She explained and Barry laughed.

"He was only joking," he whispered to her.

"Ah, right! I knew that," Kiera said as relaxed against the back of the booth.

Cisco went up for his turn and a few minutes later, Iris and Wally walked back carrying two pitchers and six cups.

"Beer," Wally said as he placed a pitcher filled with a gold foamy liquid on the table.

"And Dr. Pepper, in case anyone doesn't want to be distracted from the game" Iris said as she set down a pitcher with a bubbly dark brown liquid inside.

The group took turns pouring their drinks, some choosing the alcohol and others the soda.

"You guys missed Kiera's strike!" Barry exclaimed as she shot her a proud grin.

"Wow, congrats Kiera!" Iris said as she looked up at the monitor and smiled.

"And I want to try to get another, so I'll stick with the soda!" Kiera said and poured some soda in her cup. The group laughed and cheered by clicking their cups together.

When the game finally ended, Cisco was appointed to tally up the scores and see which team won. "The Guys win!" Cisco shouted, as he looked away from the screen; the three men cheered loudly and high-fived each other in response.

"We'll never hear the end of it," Caitlin whispered to Iris and Kiera after she checked the scores and came to the same conclusion. They groaned as they watched the boys do a victory dance.

"Let's go to a bar to celebrate! The losers are paying!" Barry exclaimed.

"Whoa, hold up!" Iris said and stood up. "We demand a rematch! Whoever wins the _next_ game pays for the drinks."

The men huddled into a circle and pretended to talk amongst themselves before they turned back, nodding in agreement.

"Deal!" Cisco said and sat down to reset the board.

The next game went by quicker and everyone seemed to be doing better, whether it was because of the alcohol or motivation to win and earn free drinks. Barry and Iris were the front-runners, each getting mostly strikes and the occasional spare.

At Barry's last turn, he was so focused on getting a strike, his hand blurred and the ball flew down the lane at an abnormal speed. Suddenly a loud crash followed by a cracking noise made everyone look over at the group's lane. A round shaped indent was left at the back of the lane and pins had flown everywhere before landing on different lanes.

Barry winced when he realized his moment of uncontrollable superspeed had caused visible damage. He glanced around and saw everyone in the room was staring at him in disbelief.

"Uh, I guess I'm stronger than I look or that backboard was weak from all of the balls and pins hitting it over the years!" Barry said with an apologetic and nervous smile.

The crowd laughed it off assuming it was the second explanation.

 _Good one, Barry! Pray no one figures out who you are and really does flood you for selfies and autographs._ Kiera teased him mentally.

Barry awkwardly went back to their booth and sat down, nervously downing his soda and stuffing a couple hot wings into his mouth.

After a few uncomfortable moments of silence, everyone returned to their games. An employee fixed the lanes as best he could and alerted maintenance to fix the backboard later. After several minutes of waiting, the group was finally able to finish their game. Their last turns began with cheap bets and attempted distractions, but everyone did remarkable well; considering their lane was still a little damaged.

After the game ended, Barry volunteered to tally up the scores, and everyone sat at the edge of their seat, waiting for him to announce their team's win.

After a moment, Barry turned to face them; his face blank and he just stared at them, teasing the rest of the group.

"Well?" Cisco asked, not able to take it any longer.

"The women won this time," Barry mumbled. Iris, Caitlin and Kiera stood up and cheered.

"Did you double check?" Cisco muttered to Barry, as the women were now the ones gloating in front of them. Barry nodded and sighed.

After a few minutes of rubbing it in, the trio of women finally sat back down.

"So I guess this means the boys are buying," Caitlin said as she grinned at Cisco.

"We hoped you wouldn't remember," Wally mumbled and they laughed.

The group of six left the bowling alley and soon arrived at a local bar. The women sat at a table as the men went to get their drinks.

"I could get used to this," Kiera whispered and chuckled.

"You all deserve it after the fight I heard about," Iris whispered.

Kiera shifted in her seat at the mention of the fight against Ruby Siren. She veiled her hand that she placed over her healing rib with her long hair. The repeated swinging motion needed for the bowling games wasn't the best for her aching body, but she didn't complain. With Barry's blood in her system, the wounds were already healing three times as fast. The shallow slash on her cheek was already almost completely healed and her rib seemed to only be sore and not painful like it was earlier. Her other wounds seemed to be almost healed as well, leaving only a slightly noticeable beat-up left hand and a couple pale brown bruises on her arms.

"-her locked up in pipeline. We are still trying to figure out her real identity," Kiera heard Caitlin whisper to Iris as she turned her attention back to the conversation.

The men returned after a couple minutes, each carrying two drinks. They set the drinks the women asked for in front of them and as the women were thanking them, the three men stopped behind each woman and dug in their pockets.

"What's going on? What are you guys doing?" Iris asked as they all turned to face the men behind them.

"What are you doing, Barry?" Kiera asked as she also turned to face the man behind her.

"Winners get trophies," Cisco said as he pulled out his fist that was holding something small inside.

"So we thought we'd get you three your trophies," Wally said as he also took out something small.

"It's not much, but it'll have to do. Hold out a hand," Barry finished.

The three women glanced at each other, slightly confused. Without words, they asked each other if the boys were serious or if this was some kind of joke. A moment later, they shrugged their shoulders and turned back to the men as they slowly held out their hands.

The men glanced at each other and nodded. They all took out the 'trophies' out of little plastic cups and slid them onto the women's fingers. Barry slid a silver colored ring with a square clear gem on top onto Kiera's middle finger, Cisco slid a similar ring with a small round turquoise gem onto Caitlin's finger and Wally slid a silver ring with a tear drop shaped purple gem onto Iris's finger.

The woman looked at the cheap vending machine rings on their fingers and couldn't help but laugh.

"We thought you'd like them better than 'Rainbow Fun Bouncy Balls', 'The Flash Action Figures'-

 _I may or may not have gotten one of those to add to my collection._ Barry told Kiera mentally and she tried to hold in a laugh as she glanced at him.

"-or 'Silly Minion Stickers'!" Cisco finished and the girls laughed again.

"Good choice," Caitlin laughed as they turned back towards the table and the boys sat down.

"We will all cherish these costly prizes," Iris teased.

"They will remind us all of the night we beat you guys!" Kiera added and the women laughed as they displayed the rings on their fingers.

The rest of the night, the six friends told embarrassing stories, jokes, and even bet on how much each one could drink as they sat in the nearly empty bar.

Sometime after midnight, Iris and Wally said good night and headed home. About a half an hour later, Caitlin looked at her phone and realized how late it was.

"I should go get some sleep. Need to be at the lab early."

"Oh, that reminds me," Barry said. "Felicity said we can meet her in Star City tomor-" he paused and looked at his phone, realizing it was after midnight. "this afternoon and she'll help us look into Ruby Siren's identity."

"Great, what time?" Kiera asked.

"About two-" Barry replied.

"Uh, I don't think you should be travelling that far." Dr. Snow interrupted. "You are still injured and need rest to let Barry's blood work,"

"I'm fine," Kiera sighed. "It's not like we're going into another fist fight."

Barry shook his head at the young doctor. "Her rib and jaw are still sore."

Kiera gave him a look of betrayal. _Sorry, I promised I'd tell her if you were worse. Some wounds might have healed almost completely, but not all of them. I felt the pain every time you bowled. The motion aggravated it... badly._ Barry said mentally.

"Besides, I don't think the Arrow would be happy to know another person knows his identity," Barry whispered. "Trust me, he almost killed me when I found out!" He winced, remembering the first time he saw the Arrow without his mask and saved his life, only to be almost choked to death.

"He's got a point," Cisco muttered.

Kiera sighed and looked down at her drink. "Fine, I'll stay in Central City, but I can still be there with Barry."

The team looked at her confused. "The seeing-through-each-others'-eyes and hear-through-each-others'-ears trick," Kiera explained in a low voice.

"But we don't know if you two can do it long distance," Caitlin realized.

"I guess we'll find out," Barry said and drained his glass of soda.

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE:** **I swear I came up with the bowling scene idea on my own. I had forgotten that Barry, Linda, Iris and Eddy went bowling in season 1. I originally thought it could be a date scene for Kiera and Barry, but then I realized it would be a better group celebration scene. I also wanted the scene to sort of make fun of Captain America: Civil War (friends vs friends/girls vs guys), because I'm so excited for the movie!**

 **And I need your help!** **I'm going to post another poll on my account (you need to have an account to vote), because I can't decide which Meta-human idea I should use. I love to hear your feedback and want you guys to participate in helping me write this story as much as possible, because without you this story would have been a lot shorter! :P**

 **Thank you all again for all of your amazing feedback, favorites, and follows! I really appreciate it!**


	18. Chapter 18

**WRITER'S NOTE: Hey everyone! I am soooo sorry for the long wait. I've had a busy few weeks. But I'm finally done with the chapter. I hope you like it! As always if you do like it, please review and let me know. (: I also take suggestions from readers!**

* * *

Wind blew past Barry as he ran. Buildings, streets, parks, and rivers flew past him as he focused on getting to Star City. Yellow lightning crackled around him and left a trail in his wake as he zipped down busy streets and dodged cars.

Barry finally stopped on a rooftop and placed Cisco on his feet beside him. "We've arrived in Star City," he said to the two women in S.T.A.R. Labs and then glanced over at his friend, who looked a little sick and disoriented, but regained his composure quickly.

Kiera heard Barry over the coms as she reluctantly stayed behind in the Cortex. She was sitting behind the room's long computer desk and beside her Dr. Snow monitored the screens in front of her.

Caitlin nodded her head in her direction and Kiera slid the monitoring headpiece onto her head. "Tapping into your senses now," she said as she closed her eyes. She pushed everything out of her mind and concentrated on seeing through Barry's eyes. She used their connection to feel where he was, the distance between them was a slight issue, but she kept trying. After a few minutes, she was finally able to see Star City's skyline below Barry's feet. The morning light shone down on the city that looked similar to Central City. The streets far below were filled with traffic of citizens on their way to work. Buildings of all shapes and sizes stuck up out of the ground, displaying Star City welcomed everyone, no matter who they were.

"I am seeing through your eyes, now trying hearing."

 _Did you go up here to remind me of our date?_ Kiera teased, as she recalled their date on top of the tallest building in Central City.

 _Maybe._ Barry answered and grinned as he scanned the city below him.

Kiera smiled, and quickly returned to her task. She kept her eyes closed as she focused on the next sense. This time it was easier, as she knew what to do and how much power it took to tap into his senses from a distance.

Kiera couldn't hear anything for a minute, but then suddenly noises flooded her ears. She heard the howling wind, sirens blaring, cars horns, shouting and music from the streets and buildings below.

"Got it," she said. She heard her own voice in her ear, and realized it was actually through the earpiece in Barry's ear. "Woah," she added, her own voice sound strange.

"You okay?" Barry asked, and she heard his voice from his own ears. To Kiera it seemed deeper than usual.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just needs a little getting used to."

"Do you need more time? More testing?" Barry asked, feeling Kiera struggle.

"No. No, I'm good. I can do this," Kiera said as she focused on continuing to use Barry's senses, instead of her own.

Barry glanced over at Cisco and he nodded, also ready to continue. Barry picked him up again and ran down the side of the building.

Suddenly Kiera saw the world blur and she realized that since she was seeing what Barry saw, she could also see what he saw whenever he ran. Buildings, cars and motorcycles flew past in a blur of colors. She heard the wind howl past his ears and Barry's lightning crackle around him. Kiera could almost feel the wind on her face and she felt herself becoming addicted to the feeling it created inside her.

"Woah! This is new," she managed as she watched the world change through Barry's eyes.

Barry grinned as he ran. None of his friends had really seen what he experienced before, until now and he couldn't help but feel relieved to share it with someone. "Welcome to the ride."

"I can't even… This is amazing… Wow," Kiera managed and heard her own voice in Barry's ear. Barry laughed and continued down the streets of Star City.

He didn't stop running until he was in the small empty room that once was Oliver Queen's campaign offices. "We're here," he said, letting Caitlin know they'd made it. Barry let Cisco go again and they walked into the next room, where a smiling blonde haired woman met them. Kiera instantly recognized the woman from Barry's memories as Felicity Smoak.

"Hey Barry, Cisco," she said and smiled widely. The trio exchanged hellos and hugs before Felicity pressed a button on the small remote she was holding. Suddenly the wall behind her started to move apart to reveal a hidden elevator.

 _Now that's cool!_ Kiera mentally exclaimed to Barry. _Do we have one of those here?_

Barry chuckled, causing Cisco and Felicity to turn to look at him as they entered the elevator. He awkwardly stepped in and the elevator started to descend.

"So where's Oliver?" Barry asked as the doors closed.

"Him and Speedy are out on a mission, but they should be back in about an hour," Felicity answered with a smile.

A couple seconds later, the doors opened again and the trio stepped out. Kiera took in everything as if she were actually there with them. She suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu and realized Barry had been in this lair before.

In the center of the large room was a round elevated platform with tables displaying several computers. To the right were several floor-to-ceiling compartments that held empty mannequins, which Kiera assumed held the team's suits. Behind the platform and to the left side of the room were many random machines, weapons, display cases, shelving and several more tables, which looked at large monitors.

 _I guess the Green Arrow really does love the color green._ Kiera remarked mentally to Barry as she noticed the whole room had a green tint to it.

Barry chuckled under his breath at her observation, causing the others to look back at him again, confused. He realized they weren't able to hear Kiera and he awkwardly wiped the smile from his face. "Oh uh, Kiera- Telegirl is um," Barry paused, trying to think of how to tell Felicity about their connection. "She is literally seeing through my eyes and hearing through my ears," he said as he pointed to his eyes and ears. "We can mentally communicate with each other."

"Wait, what? Seriously?" Felicity asked as she glanced between Barry and Cisco. Cisco nodded in response and grinned wide.

"Yeah uh, like I told you earlier she's telepathic and we have a sort of connection," Barry said.

"Like a connection, connection?" Felicity said awkwardly. "Uh, sorry, none of my business," she said and raised her hands.

Kiera couldn't help, but chuckle as she watched and listened to their conversation.

Felicity walked up to the platform and the two scientists followed. Once they stepped up a middle-aged black man met them with a grin. Kiera recognized him as John Diggle, Oliver Queen's former bodyguard and currently one of the Arrow's team members. He greeted the two scientists and they shook hands.

"So what do you need help with?" Diggle asked a minute later as he leaned against a railing and crossed his arms.

"We caught a masked villain named Ruby Siren, but we're having trouble IDing her. We've tried every database we could get our hands on," Barry explained.

"Did you get the email I sent?" Cisco asked Felicity. She nodded as she sat down at a desk and started typing. A few seconds later, Ruby Siren's masked face, what little details they had on her and videos of her robberies and fights showed up on the screens in front of Felicity.

"We thought maybe you could help us find out who she is," Barry said.

"She is also telepathic, but slightly different from Telegirl. Mind control and such. Even though she's in our pipeline, she's somehow able to use her powers to keep her mask on her face," Cisco explained as he shook his head. "It's very strange."

"I'll see what I can do," Felicity said as she cracked her knuckles dramatically and feverously started typing.

"Lyla might be able to find something in A.R.G.U.S.'s database," Diggle suggested as he pulled out his phone. "I'll call her."

Barry nodded, thanking Diggle as the man walked off the platform to call his wife.

A few minutes later, Felicity finally stopped typing, causing Cisco and Barry to look up from where they were wandering around the lair.

"Anything?" Barry asked.

Felicity shook her head and frowned. Kiera sighed as she saw the hacker shake her head through Barry's eyes.

"How is that even possible?" Barry said, making his way back to the platform. He glanced back and saw Cisco picking up an arrow from a display nearby. The scientist saw he was caught and innocently tried to put the arrow back down where it belonged, causing Barry to chuckle.

"Someone- either her or someone else- somehow managed to erase every bit of information on her that existed anywhere on the Internet," Felicity said as she leaned back in her chair, frustrated.

"Maybe not everything," Diggle said as he stepped up onto the platform. "A.R.G.U.S. might have something; Lyla's coming over to show us."

Felicity spun the chair around to face the two scientists. "By the way, how are you here, Barry? I mean doesn't Central City need saving by The Flash and a certain CSI I know?" Felicity asked and smiled.

"I took the afternoon off," Barry grinned. "I surprised the Captain by finishing some reports early-"

"For once," Cisco muttered under his breath.

They laughed and Barry continued, "So I was able to leave early."

The four friends engaged in small talk and catching up with each other's lives as they waited for Diggle's wife to arrive. Kiera and Caitlin sat quietly in S.T.A.R. Labs, listening to the conversation.

Finally the elevator opened and a woman with short dark brown hair stepped out. Kiera instantly recognized her from Barry's memories as Lyla Diggle, the new head of A.R.G.U.S and Diggle's wife.

The group greeted her as she stepped onto the platform.

"Everything we have on Ruby- or Ruby Siren," she glanced at Cisco and he gave her a wide grin and a 'thumbs up' sign for using her new Meta-human name. "It's not much, but it might help," she added as she handed a thumb drive to Felicity.

"We greatly appreciate it, Lyla. Thank you," Barry said as Felicity plugged the device into her computer. She quickly pulled up the files and the rest of the group moved to stand behind her.

"Fourteen years ago, Ruby- as she was called by Amanda Waller- broke into one of A.R.G.U.S.'s warehouses in search of some information," Lyla said as reports and images of the woman appeared on the screen. Through Barry's eyes, Kiera saw her face under the same mask she was wearing down in the Pipeline. Kiera noted how young she looked back then; she couldn't have been more than twenty-one years old.

"Before she could escape, she was caught by some of Waller's soldiers and was imprisoned. After several _interrogations_ , they found out she was working for an organization that wanted information on how to take down 'enhanced people' that were in the world at that time." Lyla looked at the group, silently saying that she couldn't go into more details on that subject.

"After a couple months of interrogations, they also found out she was an orphan at a young age, after she killed her father and step mother, because they were abusive and were threatening to send her away," Lyla paused and everyone in the room looked stunned at the new information.

"That's messed up," Cisco muttered under his breath and Barry nodded.

Lyla nodded also and sighed. "Reports talk about her mental condition. She was pretty much insane at that point. But Waller saw what she could do; how she could break into anything and hack anything electronic. Ruby tried to escape hundreds of times and Waller got to see how well she fought as well. So she decided to turn Ruby to her side and train her to work for A.R.G.U.S." Lyla paused, her face saying she did not agree with what Waller did. "She had her trained and sent her on missions as a spy, hacker, thief, assassin…." She trailed off.

"Wow…" Kiera muttered as the information sunk in, her words audible in the earpieces Cisco and Barry had. Barry shook his head, the information almost unbelievable to him.

They didn't know exactly how dangerous Ruby Siren was until now. She was deadly, smart, resourceful and who knows what else. The woman was trained to be the perfect weapon from a young age and now they had her locked up in their basement.

After a minute of silence, to let realty sink in, Lyla Diggle continued. "But after two years and four months, Ruby got tired of being told what to do and managed to escape, disappearing without a trace. Waller put a kill order out for Ruby and A.R.G.U.S. has been looking for her ever sense. She's smart, she knows how stay hidden and how to survive. She was in hiding for almost ten years before you found her."

"And she joined 'The Jewel Thieves'," Cisco realized. "She probably was their leader. When they were finally arrested, Ruby managed to escape and went into hiding again."

"Then she became a Meta and changed her game," Barry added, as they put the pieces together. "She pretty much ignored the security cameras, because she knew she could use her powers to escape anyone who tried to capture her."

Lyla nodded. "We tried, many times, but she managed to get away every time."

"That's because she has the ability to control people's minds," Cisco explained.

Barry shifted his weight awkwardly as he remembered the days he was under her control.

"She managed to kidnap The Flash and control him for a couple days before Telegirl found him and they captured her," Cisco explained to Felicity, Diggle and Lyla.

"Did Waller know her real name?" Barry asked, changing the subject.

Lyla frowned and shook her head. "Ruby had erased every piece of information pertaining to her before we even knew about her. Like I said, she's smart." The head of A.R.G.U.S. sighed. "To A.R.G.U.S. she's always been known as 'Ruby'."

"Well it's more info than we had before," Barry shrugged and thanked Lyla again. She offered to take the villain to a secure prison and the two scientists said they'd let her know when they were ready to transfer her.

Lyla got an alert on her phone a moment later and said goodbye before leaving.

"Well that was…." Barry trailed off, not sure how to describe what they had just discovered about Ruby Siren.

"Disturbing," Cisco finished and the team nodded.

"Hey, since you guys are here, do you want to go get dinner or coffee or something?" Felicity offered as she stood up a minute later.

"Yeah that-" Barry was interrupted as a voice came through the lair's speakers.

"Felicity? We are kind of out numbered and could use an escape route!"

Kiera realized it was Oliver Queen, also known as The Green Arrow, as Felicity sat down at her desk quickly and started typing on her computer.

"On it!" Felicity said as Ruby Siren's information disappeared from the screen and was replaced by a map and coordinates, then a floor plan of the building the Green Arrow was in.

"Yeah, help would be greatly appreciated," another voice said as she looked around at the men closing in, this time it was a woman's voice and Kiera guessed it was Green Arrow's side kick and sister, Thea Queen, also known as 'Speedy'.

Barry looked at the screen. "I can help with that," he said and in a streak of yellow he was wearing his suit. He grinned and then vanished, leaving a gust of wind behind him.

 _Woah, Barry you're just going to go into a fight with me onboard? All I can do is sit back and watch!_ Kiera said mentally as the world blurred and she heard the wind blow past Barry.

 _Sorry. I guess you're coming along for the ride. You could be my backseat driver._ Barry replied mentally, grinning as he turned a corner and continued to run.

Kiera sighed and focused on the world around him as he ran to help the Green Arrow. Even though she was upset with only being able to watch what was happening instead of being there to help him, she couldn't help but smile as she felt the adrenaline rush caused by The Flash's speed. She saw the yellow flashes of lightning coming from his body as he ran as fast as he could; the feeling was barely perceptible compared to what Barry felt, but she could still feel the lightning sparking and trailing across his body before flying off behind him.

A few seconds later, The Flash skidded to a stop outside of what looked like an old abandoned office building. The area around the building was deserted and wind howled through broken windows, making the place even spookier.

"Coms are working. We are all connected," Felicity said into the microphone on her desk.

"Never worked from here before," Cisco said, looking like a kid on Christmas morning as he sat down beside Felicity.

"Oliver, what floor?" Barry asked as he looked up at the building for any signs of movement.

"Fifth," the vigilante answered as he fought off an attack and punched another into a wall.

The Flash ran into the building and up the flights of stairs in a matter of seconds, before stopping to take in the fight before him.

About twenty feet in front of him, the Arrow and Speedy were backed up against a hallway wall and surrounded by dozens of armed men who seemed to be wearing some sort of sleek black body armor.

The heroes weren't giving up even though the odds weren't good. They continued the fight as man after man charged at them. They kicked, jabbed, punched, and shot arrows at their opponents, but Barry could tell they were starting to get tired.

The Flash blurred into a streak of yellow and ran into the group of men. They flew against the opposite wall and then fell to the floor as he slammed into them like they were pins and he was a bowling ball from last night's party.

He stopped on the other side and turned to see the men groaning as they lay on the floor before the team's feet.

"Neat trick," Speedy managed as she tried to catch her breath.

"Always nice to see you, Flash," Oliver grinned under his hood.

Barry nodded and grinned. He opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by another voice.

"The Flash? Welcome!" a deep voice said as a tall man stepped out of a nearby room and into the wide hallway. He was wearing the same body armor as the others, but with slight changes, making it obvious he was the group's leader. "We've heard so much about you. My boss will be happy when he hears we've killed The Green Arrow _and_ The Flash." He grinned as he pulled something out of his belt's pocket.

Barry narrowed his eyes and Kiera held her breath, watching the whole thing from Barry's eyes. Her hands formed fists as the man threated the team of heroes. She felt the urge to use her Telekinesis to slam him against a wall and choke him like she'd seen in Star Wars movies, but all she could do was watch the man through Barry's eyes.

The man threw a small device at the wall. Without hesitation, The Flash ran towards it, thinking it was a grenade of some sort that needed to taken away from his friends.

Before he could reach it he heard a loud beep and his body suddenly felt like it was being pulled apart, even though nothing was touching him. He fell to his knees and screamed as the pain spread through every inch of his body.

Kiera gasped as she also felt the pain surge through her body, but only half of what Barry felt. She gritted her teeth, trying to suppress her own scream.

"Barry? What's happening? Your vitals are spiking! And so is Kiera's!" they heard Caitlin say through the earpiece. Unable to answer, due to the immense pain surging through is body, Barry just groaned and struggled to get back up, but without any success.

Using Barry's blurred vision, Kiera suddenly saw a dark form step towards him. Sounds flooded Barry's ears, but nothing was clear; there were what sounded like screams, maybe his own or maybe his teammates that may also be in pain, other noises that sounded like crackling, talking, and static on a radio, but Barry and Kiera couldn't be sure as the pain took over their bodies. Kiera tried to focus on the form that was moving towards Barry, but the pain Barry was going through made it hard to see. All she saw was a black blob and bright lights that could have been from the rooms' windows.

 _Barry? Barry! Move!_ Kiera screamed at him with her mind as she watched the form continue to move towards him. _Move! Run! Get out of there!_ She saw the shape of a gun move through the air until it was aimed at his head. _No! Barry! Listen to my voice! You can do this! You have to do this! You need to move! NOW!_ Kiera felt moisture on her own cheeks, she wasn't sure if it was from the immense pain they were both going through or from how terrified she was that she might lose Barry again- and this time forever.

Nothing else mattered at that moment; only Barry and his survival. Kiera focused on their connection, on getting through to him and motivating him to move, but nothing happened. Kiera didn't hear Barry's voice in her head, she didn't see anything move; all she felt was intense pain.

The whole world suddenly seemed to freeze.

 _Barry!_ Kiera cried out in her mind again.

A gunshot sounded and suddenly everything blurred. Everything turned yellow and then went back to normal again, but something was different.

Barry groaned and stood up slowly. The pain seemed to have vanished, but was replaced by dizziness and a slight weak feeling. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the sudden brightness as he looked up and Kiera and Barry saw he was on the other side of the hallway. About ten feet in front of him, stood the man that wanted to kill The Flash and The Green Arrow. Barry's eyes focused and he realized the man was against the hallway's wall, tied up with wires and struggling to get free. Behind him, the device that he had thrown at the wall, was now pierced by an arrow and sparking. Oliver seemed to have had somehow managed to fight the pain and shoot an arrow at the device and then stopping the man responsible.

Flash looked over at his teammates, who were slowly standing up and groaning.

"What just happened? Is everyone okay?" Felicity asked. "The coms went offline for a couple minutes."

"We're fine. Had to deal with a problem," Oliver managed as he walked to the captured man.

"I don't think you're boss will be happy that you failed!" He told the man as he stopped in front of him. The man stopped struggling against the wires and narrowed his eyes in response.

Suddenly there was a loud crash and the sound of glass shattering, then the walls behind the man crumbled. He fell back into an empty room and sunlight spilled in through the broken window on the other side of the room.

Flash ran to the scene, Speedy moved to stand beside her brother, ready to fight, and Oliver pulled an arrow out of his quiver in a blink of an eye, aiming it out the window, but the heroes saw nothing.

After a moment of waiting, they slowly stepped forward and looked down at the man who hadn't moved since he landed on the floor inside the room. They saw dark blood trickle out of the corner of his mouth and his blank dead eyes stared up at the ceiling.

Oliver leaned down and pushed the man on his side, finding a bullet wound on the back of his neck. "He's dead."

The Flash opened his mouth and stepped back, stunned at what just happened.

"Guess his boss _really_ doesn't like failure," Thea muttered as she stared down at the dead man before them.

* * *

About a ten minutes later, the three tired heroes stepped out of the lair's elevator and were greeted by Felicity and Cisco. They helped tend to their minor wounds as they explained the best they could what had happened.

"What were you two doing there anyways?" Barry asked as he sat down in a nearby chair.

"Getting information," Oliver said, his tone saying he didn't want to explain further.

"Well it looked like they really didn't want to give it to you," Barry said sarcastically.

Kiera was still tapped into Barry's senses and now that he was safe, she spoke to him mentally. _Were you able to hear me back there when that device was activated?_

 _Some, but I couldn't really respond. I couldn't do anything. It was like I was paralyzed from the pain._ He mentally explained as he sat back and watched the others talk and analyze the device used against them. Cisco was frustrated and mumbling how upset he was that there was an arrow through it, but tried to open it up anyways.

 _But you weren't paralyzed. You moved out of the way._

 _No, I didn't. I mean I didn't do it._ Barry said, confused. _I can't explain it. I just couldn't move and then all of sudden I was moving. I don't know how…_

 _I can't explain it either._ Kiera frowned and thought on what had happened.

* * *

The team in the Arrow's lair said their goodbyes an hour later, before Barry and Cisco returned to S.T.A.R. Labs. Kiera had withdrawn from Barry's senses before they had left for Central City and she was now resting in a chair front of the desk, staring up at the large monitors as Caitlin worked at her station behind her. The young doctor had convinced Kiera to sit and rest after noticing how pale and weak she was. Kiera hadn't realized how much tapping into Barry's senses and feeling what Barry felt during the fight had affected her, so she finally agreed to rest.

Kiera leaned back in the chair and watched the screens before her; one of them showed Ruby Siren pacing in her cell, another screen showed Barry's path back to the city and the last showed live feed of the local news.

An image of the Flash appeared on the news and Kiera grabbed the remote to turn the volume up. "-City residents still don't seem to trust The Flash after his robbery spree just a few days ago," the newswoman was saying as images of The Flash and Ruby Siren's robberies appeared on the screen. "We go to Barbara Brennan on the streets of Central City for opinions about The Flash's sudden change."

Kiera sighed as she watched the reporter interview random people. They all said they didn't know if they could put their faith in The Flash after what he did and said maybe he was turning to the 'bad side', even though Telegirl announced that Ruby Siren was controlling The Flash, they still seemed to have their doubts.

"I can't blame them for not trusting me…"

Kiera and Caitlin turned toward the new voice and saw Barry and Cisco standing in the Cortex's main doorway. She frowned and muted the TV, before standing up. "Barry… It wasn't you…" Kiera whispered and glanced at Caitlin, who showed the same concern on her face. Cisco moved to his chair and sat down, frowning at his friend's mood.

"They don't know that," Barry halfheartedly replied as he leaned against the wall.

"I told them it was Ruby's control that made you act out of character," Kiera insisted.

"They don't seem to believe you," he replied as he nodded toward the screen that displayed more interviews with fearful people.

"Then we show them you are back to doing good," Caitlin said as she looked at her discouraged friend.

"How?"

"Little things like finding a lost kid, saving someone from being hit by a car, saving someone from being robbed…" Kiera suggested as she walked around the long desk to get closer to Barry. "A hero doesn't need to save an entire city in one day to get noticed."

Barry sighed and rubbed his hand across his face, as if to rub the tired and downhearted look off his features.

Everyone stayed quiet for a moment, waiting to see what Barry would say, but nothing happened. Instead the sound of a cellphone ring filled the room and he answered it.

"Yeah, okay, I'm on my way," He said and hung up.

"The Captain needs me back at the station. See you guys later," he said and in a gust of wind he was gone.

Kiera frowned and looked at the two scientists. "He needs to be shown he's still a hero and not what Ruby Siren forced him to be."

A few seconds later, a smile grew on Kiera's face as she got an idea. "And I might know how we can do that."

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE: Thank you to those of you who voted on the latest poll. It seems you all want the next rogue Meta to be able to camouflage his/herself.**

 **A reader (WinterRain36) suggested that maybe Kiera and Barry's connection could all Kiera to control Barry's body if he's unable to move out of the way or something like that. I wrote something similar into this chapter, but I didn't write too much detail, as I wanted to know your opinions first.  
So I'm going to make another poll (I love hearing what you, the readers, think of ideas like this) about if Kiera should be able to do that or not. (unfortunately only readers with FanFiction accounts can access the polls, so if you are a guest and want to share your opinion, you can tell me in a review).  
**

 **Thank you all for continuing to read my story! I will try to have the next chapter up as soon as I can.**


	19. Chapter 19

**WRITER'S NOTE: Thank you all so much for your positive feedback and heartwarming reviews! It means so much to me!** **As always, if you have any questions, suggestions or anything else for that matter, please either put them in a review or PM me. Thanks!**

 **I have to apologize, a reader (Ravenmore45) asked a question after ch. 17 and I forgot to answer it. So I'll answer it now. They asked if Kiera will take Barry flying.  
The answer is yes, I was planning on it. That scene(s) will probably appear in ch. 21 or 22. I also have many more ideas I want to insert into this story, so hopefully you guys won't get bored of this fanfic! haha **

**Also the last poll (WinterRain36's idea about either or not Kiera should be able to control Barry's body in times of danger) had several** **notes, so thank you! All of you voted that you'd like to see it happen, so it gets mentioned at the end of this chapter and will be explored more in later chapters. Thank you all for voting!**

* * *

The sun was setting over Central City the next day as The Flash raced down the busy streets, trying to get to S.T.A.R. Labs as soon as he could. The day had been slow for everyone on the team. Caitlin and Cisco had their own work at the lab and they had shown Kiera what she could do on her first day of working. Barry had spent most of the day in his own lab, pouring over forensic work for different cases and catching up on paperwork.

He had gotten a text from Cisco a few seconds ago, saying ' _S.O.S. Come A.S.A.P._ ', so he ran out of the precinct and raced toward the lab. He tried to use their connection to see if Kiera was in trouble, but all he felt was her slightly elevated heartbeat. _Kiera? Are you okay? Are you at the lab?_

No response. It only made him run faster. He jumped over cars, dodged pedestrians and made sharp turns as he zipped through the busy city, desperately trying to get to the lab in time to save his friends from whatever danger they were in.

The Flash ran into the Cortex and looked around for any signs that his friends were there and whether or not they were in trouble, but the room was eerily quiet. Everything looked normal; nothing looked disturbed or out of place.

Footsteps echoed through the room and he looked around, his eyes darting back and forth under his mask as he looked for the source of the noise.

A few seconds later, Cisco, Caitlin, and Telegirl stepped out from the small room to Barry's left. He looked them over for any signs of injury or struggle, but he saw none. Instead the team looked calm and excited.

"I knew you'd come quick," Kiera said and smiled. Barry noticed she was in her Telegirl suit, with the exception of her mask, which she held in her right hand. She nodded to the two scientists beside her and they walked to the computer desk between Barry and them.

"Yes, Cisco said 'S.O.S', so I thought you guys were in trouble…" he said, confused and glanced at each team member as he tried to figure out what they were up to. "What's going on?"

"We want to help you make The Flash a hero again," Caitlin said as she sat in her chair.

"You have a plan?" Barry asked, relaxing when they confirmed they weren't in any danger. He pushed the hooded mask off his head and let it hang behind him as he watched his friends.

Kiera nodded and smiled as she took a step forward. "We're going to have a night of crime fighting."

Barry looked at her surprised. "Crime fighting?"

"Yes. You and I are going to catch some bad guys, with Cisco and Caitlin's help of course."

"Is that a good idea? I mean the city doesn't trust me anymore…"

"They will, soon. This is going to help them see which side you're on," Caitlin stated.

"Dude, Ruby Siren is locked up, she can't control you anymore. You are _The Flash_! A _hero_! All we need to do is show them," Cisco added, seeing his friend's uncertain face.

"Barry, I can read you're mind, remember? I know you're thinking it could work. Everything will be fine," Kiera said after hearing Barry's thoughts.

"Then you also know I'm not sure about this. Something could go wrong."

Kiera sighed and stepped closer. "When has that stopped you in the past? It _will_ work. Trust me. They want to believe you're still their hero. They've seen you do amazing things to save this city and I they still have hope you can be that hero again," she whispered as she stopped in front of the worried speedster.

"We just have to show them and they then _will_ believe in you again. Trust me," Kiera looked up into his blue-green eyes and gently placed her hand over his heart. Her blue eyes showed him hope, confidence and assuredness. "Show them what's in here and not what she put in here." She gently raised her other hand and tapped the side of his head with her index finger.

The two Meta-humans silently stood in front of each other for a moment; Barry's hand over her slender hand covering his heart as they stared into each other's eyes. They didn't need their unique connection to know what the other was thinking and feeling. Kiera saw he was unsure and anxious about their idea; she also saw hope flicker in his eyes. She knew he wanted to get back out there and protect his beloved city by fighting crime and taking down any wrongdoer that tried to do harm. Barry saw Kiera's determination and confidence that this plan would work and he'd be back to being Central City's beloved scarlet speedster in no time.

Finally Barry gave in. "Fine. So what are we going to do?"

Kiera looked at the two scientists, who were waiting at the desk, and grinned widely at her success.

"Yes!" Cisco exclaimed and fist pumped before spinning his chair so he could face the computer screen. He started typing and soon found a police report. "There's a car chase on 3rd Street! Police are chasing a man who took a hostage after robbing a bank!"

"We're on it!" Barry said as he and Kiera put their masks and he picked her up before racing out of the lab.

A few seconds later, they stopped and Telegirl looked around. They were standing in the middle of an empty road with only a handful of pedestrians walking the sidewalks parallel to the street. They stopped and stared once they noticed Telegirl and Flash.

Kiera turned her direction to the street before them when she suddenly the sound of sirens could be heard coming towards them. Kiera glanced over at Barry and he nodded to her to confirm her thoughts; the chase was headed their way. They anxiously waited a minute until they saw a dark car appear over the street's hill, followed by three police cars.

"I'll handle the car, you get them to safety," Kiera said as she nodded towards the small group gathering to watch what the two heroes were going to do.

Barry nodded and disappeared into a streak of yellow lightning. Telegirl focused on the car speeding towards her. She took a deep breath to try to calm her self and then put her hands out in front her, palms outstretched.

Kiera concentrated on the car and it started to float above the asphalt street. She gritted her teeth as she lifted the two-ton car with her mind. She used her Telekinesis to slow the car as he floated towards he and made it slowly incline, as it got closer. The police cars behind the getaway car slammed on their brakes as they watched the car float before them.

Telegirl concentrated hard on keeping the car in the air, the weight making the task harder than she thought. She was so focused on her task; she didn't realize Flash had returned to her side after completing his own task. He watched in amazement as the car slowly made it's way towards them.

The two-ton car slowly floated over their heads and then descended back to the ground behind them. Telegirl turned as the car moved and she focused on making the descent smooth.

Flash watched the car fly through the air and saw the criminal's reaction as he stared down at the street below him, stunned. "Please keep your hands and feet in the ride at all times. Thank you," Barry joked, imitating the woman's voice that usually announced the safety rules before a theme park ride.

Once the tires reached the ground, Kiera mentally let go of the car and almost doubled over from the massive headache caused by the difficult task. She closed her eyes tight as she felt a wave of dizziness take over. Her body shook uncontrollably for a few seconds as her head pounded. Kiera didn't realize using her Telekinesis to make a car fly would cause her body to revolt in such a way, but then she remembered one of the first times she tested the limits of her abilities. It was when she used her Telekinesis to make a hole in Tidal Wave's hurricane, so she and Flash could walk inside. The symptoms she had now were very similar to what she experienced then, except she hoped she wouldn't end up passing out this time.

"Are you okay?" Barry whispered as he stepped forward quickly and grabbed onto her in case she was going to fall. His own head pounded to a lesser degree from their connection.

Kiera let out a groan and nodded. "Just give me a sec." She gritted her teeth and after a recovering as best she could, she stood back up. "I'm good now," she whispered.

Barry looked at her and his eyes widened slightly. "Kiera, your nose," he whispered as he pointed towards the area right under his nose.

Kiera looked at him confused and then slowly raised her gloved hand to her own nose. She pulled her finger back and saw a spot of dark red blood soaking into her glove. She sighed and wiped the rest from her lip. "It's fine," she insisted.

"Your mental activity and vitals spiked pretty high, Kiera. I don't think you can do that again without permanent damage," Caitlin said in their earpieces.

"I'm fine," Kiera repeated. "The headache's gone. Let's finish this." Telegirl turned her attention back to the car. Even though she was in pain, she had kept the car in place with her powers, to make sure the criminal wouldn't get away. They noticed while they had been talking, the police officers had exited their cars and were set up behind their vehicles' doors, ready for anything the criminal might do.

"Stay back, we've got this," Flash said as he motioned to a few officers that were starting to approach to stay where they were.

The criminal opened the car's door, trying to get out and away from the Meta-humans, but Telegirl flicked her hand and the door slammed shut again, trapping the man inside. She smirked and glanced at Flash.

They exchanged looks and the distraction gave the criminal a second to pull out a gun and fire it out the back window of the car. Kiera gasped as they heard the glass shatter. Barry saw the bullet fly towards them in slow motion and he stepped forward. He reached out a hand and grabbed the bullet as it flew through the air towards Telegirl.

Kiera blinked and suddenly Barry's fist was a few inches from her heart. Her eyes widened as she realized she could have died right then if he hadn't used his speed to catch the bullet.

 _Thank you._ She managed mentally and turned her attention back to the criminal in the car. The man inside was surprised that his actions had failed and quickly moved to try his backup plan. He grabbed his hostage, a terrified young woman who was trying to hide in the backseat, and pulled her in front of him. He pressed the gun to the side of her head and shouted out, "If you don't let me go, I'll shoot her!"

The Flash ran towards the car quickly and pulled the woman and the gun from his grasp before he could anything. He sped her out of the car and gently placed her behind the police line before returning to Telegirl's side.

"Who?" Flash grinned as he looked at the man inside the car. Kiera smirked as she realized what he had done.

The man blinked and realized his hostage and his weapon were gone. He looked out the broken back window and narrowed his eyes at the speedster.

"Do you want to give yourself up now or do you want to go for another ride? This time it won't be so smooth!" Telegirl threatened as she outstretched her arms again. She was buffing, as she knew from Dr. Snow's warning, she couldn't lift the car again without passing out- or something worse, but the criminal didn't know it was a lie. The man clenched his jaw and slowly raised his hands above his head. Kiera smirked from behind her mask.

"Good choice!" She shouted at him.

Flash motioned to the policemen, telling them they could approach now. One of them picked up a police shield and cautiously started to walk towards the car, with a few armed officers following behind him.

The two masked Meta-humans watched, ready to intervene if the man decided to put up a fight. The policemen stopped before the driver's door and one of them opened it while another pointed his gun at the criminal for backup. The first officer told the man what to do and he reluctantly got out of the car, and then pressed up against the side. The officer closest to him pulled out a pair of handcuffs and quickly secured the man's arms behind his back.

After making sure the police could handle the newly captured criminal, Flash grabbed onto Telegirl and sped out of there.

"What's next, Cisco?" Barry asked as he stopped a little while later.

"Give me a minute," the computer hacker replied as he feverously typed at his desk, hacking into the police's database.

As they waited, Barry ran up and down Central City's streets. Kiera felt the wind on her face as they moved through the city at a speed faster than a speeding bullet.

Suddenly everything stopped. She felt the ground under feet again and she looked around, trying to figure out why they had suddenly stopped.

Flash and Telegirl were standing on a sidewalk that was engulfed in shadows cast by a tall office building behind them. Kiera turned her attention to the street before them and saw a couple cars parked along the sidewalk, blocking them from the street. She noticed the street seemed to be empty of any moving cars or pedestrians, as almost everyone was done working for the day and had returned to their homes for the night.

Telegirl glanced over at Flash and whispered, "Why did we stop?"

Barry turned his head towards her as he put his index finger in front of his lips to signal to be quiet, and then he looked to their right.

Kiera watched him confused and followed his line of sight. _What is it? What do you see?_ She asked him mentally, not seeing anything.

He glanced at her and then down the sidewalk again. _There's a car thief stealing that silver car._

Kiera silently stepped forward to get a better look and noticed movement on the driver's side of the small silver vehicle a few cars down from where they stood.

 _I see him._ She said as she watched the outline of a hooded man trying to open the car door with a Slim Jim tool.

A slight smile appeared on Kiera's face, but wasn't seen through the dark shadows they hid in. _Watch this._ She mentally said to Barry as they heard the car door unlock. She slowly raised a hand and flicked it downward, making the door lock again.

"What the?" The man muttered under his breath and glanced around. The thief seemed to look right at them for a second and Kiera held her breath, thinking they'd been caught, but then the man turned his head and looked in the opposite direction. Kiera silently let out the air in her lungs as he looked away; they hadn't been seen after all; the shadows had covered them in complete darkness.

The man quickly returned to his task of opening the car door and a minute later the door unlocked again.

 _Let's try that again._ Kiera said mentally as she flicked her hand down again, locking the door before the man could open it.

Barry smirked as he watched the man curse under his breath, growing more and more frustrated with the car.

He silently fumbled with his tool and tried to unlock the door for a third time. It repeated a few more times, before Barry stepped forward and whispered, "I think that's enough teasing. I'll take him in." Flash disappeared in a streak of yellow and a second later the man did also. Kiera blinked and Barry was standing before her, grinning.

"Well?" Kiera asked, curious.

"Joe's writing him right now. He'll be in jail for a while, where he'll have a lot of time to try to figure out what happened," Barry explained and grinned wide. Kiera laughed.

"Reports are coming in saying there's an office building fire on 24th street. The first responders aren't even there yet," Cisco interrupted as he pulled up police reports on his computer.

"Another fire?" Kiera asked as she remembered the fire she put out four days ago.

"It's a big city, sadly fires happen all the time," Barry explained with a frown.

"Right, I guess I just never realized it," Kiera nodded, realizing how native she sounded.

Flash picked her up again and ran toward their destination. He stopped across the street from the burning building and let go of Kiera. They looked up and saw the tall office building was engulfed in flames and smoke; so much so that the outline of the top half couldn't be seen through the smoke cloud. The orange light coming from the fire glowed in the night sky, like a large candle.

"Oh my…" Kiera looked up, speechless.

"We need to get everyone out of there!" Barry said. "You start evacuating the bottom floors, and I'll see if anyone is up on the top floors."

Kiera nodded and before he could vanish, she shouted after him, "Be careful! I feel it when you get hurt, remember?"

Barry nodded under the red mask and disappeared inside. Telegirl followed and located the building's emergency stairs. She ran up as quickly as she could, occasionally using her powers to push her up a few steps at a time.

Telegirl finally made it up to the twelfth floor and stopped for a minute to listen for any signs of life over the loud evacuation alarms sounding throughout the building. She glanced around and saw the room was quickly filling with smoke and parts of the floor's ceiling were starting to collapse, making it look like it was raining ash.

"Anyone in here? Anyone need help?" Kiera shouted over the noise and then waited for a response.

"Here!" Kiera heard a woman's faint shout coming from her left and then another shout, and another.

"I'm coming! Stay calm! I'm here to rescue you!" Telegirl shouted as she ran toward the voice, dodging debris, burning office equipment and holes in the floor.

After about a minute, she spotted the back of several heads against a desk. Kiera made her way around the desk and gasped at what she saw.

Leaning against the damaged desk was a middle-aged woman who was so covered in ash; she almost blended into her shredded black pantsuit. There were six other office employees huddled around her, shaking in terror as they were trapped inside a small valley of desks, broken ceiling and the back wall. Kiera looked back at the first woman and noticed her right leg was trapped under a broken piece of the collapsed ceiling. A blood pool was starting to come out from under the large piece of concrete.

Kiera thought fast and looked at the woman's terrified face. "You're going to be fine. I'll get you out of there. I'm going to lift the concrete. You two," She pointed to the two men next to the woman, "help pull her out, okay?"

They nodded back quickly and moved into position, their eyes big with fear, but they tried to keep it together.

"One, two," Kiera counted as she outstretched her hands and concentrated on the piece of ceiling in front of her. "Three! Now!" she shouted as the slab of concrete floated up and hovered a couple feet above the woman's leg. The men quickly helped pull the woman out and once she was free, Telegirl slowly lowered it off to the side so they could get out.

Telegirl turned her attention back to the small group huddling to her right. "Can you walk?" She asked as she watched the men help the injured woman up. She tried to put her foot down on the ground, but pulled it back up quickly with a yelp and a shake of her head. "Okay, you two help her." Kiera pointed to the men again and they each took one of her arms and helped the woman hop towards the stairs.

Telegirl followed the group, scanning the room as she walked, but she didn't see or hear anyone else. The group stopped at the staircase's entrance and looked back at the hero.

"Go on. Get out of here. The fire trucks and ambulances should be here any minute. They'll help you once you get out." She said as she shooed the group out.

"Thank you, Telegirl!" One of the employees said, before the larger man of the two offered to carry the injured woman and they all made their way down the flights of stairs.

Kiera couldn't help, but smile; they knew her name, her Meta-human name, that is.

 _How are you doing?_ Kiera asked Barry mentally as she followed the group to the next floor down a few seconds later and then headed into another floor's door.

 _The fire's bad up here. I've found several survivors so far, trying the next five floors now._

 _Good._ Kiera paused as she heard sirens from a broken window on the other side of the room. _The first responders are here._ She turned, scanning the room for anyone in need of help and out of the corner of her eye she saw a streak of yellow racing past the staircase door. She grinned, knowing The Flash had found someone and was bringing him or her down to safety.

Telegirl quickly turned her attention back to the room and called for any survivors again. A minute later she found two women cornered by a flaming desk. She used her powers to move the desk out of their way and then helped them to the staircase before moving on to the next floor.

She did the same for the next few floors, managing to help around twenty people. Before she could enter the fifth floor she heard a terrified scream echo down the staircase. Kiera quickly looked up to try to find the source of the sound, but the stairs above her were filling with smoke and the glow of fire.

Thinking on her feet, Telegirl leapt forward from where she was standing on the small platform between the flights of stairs. She quickly grabbed onto the platform's railing and pulled herself up, so she was standing on the thin metal handrail. She pushed off it and used her Telekinesis to quickly float up between floors, toward the screaming.

The scream repeated and Telegirl stopped, realizing the scream was coming from the floor she was at. She lunged forward and grabbed onto the railing and jumped over it, landing on the floor's platform a second later. Kiera tried opening the door, but pulled her hand away quickly when she felt the metal handle burn her hand. She winced and stepped back as she focused on the door. She flicked her hand a few seconds later and the door swung open.

Kiera gasped as a flame lapped out of the opening towards her. She ducked, her hands out before her and unknowingly used her power to push the flame back. Her eyes widened when she realized what happened and looked from her hands to the fire on the other side of the doorway. She flicked her hands as she concentrated on parting the fire, so she could enter.

Kiera felt a wave of blazing heat as she entered the room. Once inside, Telegirl glanced around the smoke-filled room. Fire covered every wall and anything close by, making the room glow orange. She felt her lungs grasp for air, but instead were filled with smoke. She coughed and quickly put her arm up to cover her mouth and nose.

The sound of crackling, loud sirens and alarms, and crashing debris flooded Kiera's ears as she took another step and scanned the fire for any movement. She coughed and squinted her eyes against the bright orange light all around her; they started to water from the thick smoke.

"Is anyone here? I'm here to help!" Telegirl managed before having a short coughing fit.

At first she thought she heard a shout over the crackling flames, but she couldn't be sure. Then she heard it again; a faint scream for help. She took another step forward and then quickly to her right as a piece of the ceiling started to crumble above her.

"Can you hear me? Where are you?" Kiera shouted above the noise as she continued to scan the room.

"Here! Help! Please!" This time Kiera knew she heard it. She whipped her head to the left as the terrified voice continued to scream and then cough.

"I'm coming! Hold on!" Telegirl replied as she dodged the flames and mentally pushed things aside while making her way towards the voice.

"Please hurry!"

Telegirl sprinted faster at the terrified cry. "Where are you?" she coughed out as she stopped and spun around, trying to locate the person.

"Here!"

Kiera turned in its direction and saw a woman that looked about her age, almost completely surrounded by a wall of flames. Her clothes were torn, singed and covered in ash and her curled hair was clumped together and coated in black ash.

"I'm going to get you out of there!" Telegirl shouted over the roar of the fire. The woman nodded, tears making trails down her ash-covered cheeks. Kiera outstretched her hands and focused on the flames, tuning out the sound of the woman's coughing fit, the alarms and the flames' crackling.

Slowly the flames started to part and once Kiera got a handle on the flames she pushed her arms out to her sides until there was a seven-foot gap in the wall of flames.

"Hurry!" Telegirl shouted over the noise. The terrified woman hesitated, not sure if her savior could hold the flames apart long enough, but then she looked into the Meta-human's eyes. She knew she could trust the blonde woman and she quickly ran through the gap, only stopping once she was behind Telegirl.

Seeing the woman was safe, Kiera let go of the flames and they fell back to their positions. The sudden movement made the flames to burst outward, causing a small explosion that sent them flying backwards.

As the two women fell back, Kiera quickly dug her shield out of her suit's pocket and pressed the button. She used her powers to hold the shield over them as they smashed into ash-coated floor on the other side of the room. The hard hit caused all of the air in the two women's lungs to leave their bodies. They gasped for air and groaned as their bodies complained.

Kiera looked up, blinking several times until her vision cleared, and saw her clear shield was hovering over them, blocking falling debris. She looked at the woman beside her as she tried to get up. The woman was groaning and trying to move to get her body comfortable.

"Are you okay?" Telegirl asked and offered a hand to help the woman up.

The red-haired woman coughed, trying to breath oxygen and not the smoke and ash in the air. She slowly nodded and took Telegirl's hand as she struggled to stand.

"We need to get out of here," Kiera said as she looked around for any way out through the bright orange flames.

Finally she spotted the entrance she came in through earlier. Kiera moved the shield to hover above their heads, to try to block any falling debris, as she motioned to the woman to follow her.

"Stay close and I'll get you out of here," Telegirl shouted and the woman nodded as she walked beside her.

Kiera used her powers to push flaming office equipment and threatening spots of fire out of their path as they walked toward the exit.

After a few minutes, they finally reached the open door and the woman stepped through.

"Go! Get out of here! I'll be right behind you!" Telegirl shouted over the noise and the woman looked back at her.

"Thank you!" she replied and quickly hugged the hero before darting off down the staircase.

Kiera smiled at the woman's gratitude and then turned to look at the burning room one last time as she lowered her shield.

Suddenly a piece of the wall behind Kiera swung out and hit her hard on the back of her head and her upper back, sending her sideways into the room. Her body crashed into a burnt desk, before hitting the hard floor.

Kiera groaned in pain and she started to see small black spots as she slowly opened her eyes. After a minute of lying on the ground, she attempted to get up, but her body protested, sending pain shooting up her back and into her head. She gasped in pain and fell back against the charred wood that was once an office desk.

"Kiera? Can you hear me? Your vitals are spiking! Are you okay?" she heard Caitlin say in her ear.

"Not sure. I can't move-" Kiera stopped as she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head to get a better look and saw the flames inching towards her. She blinked and saw what looked like the dark outline of man standing in the fire on the other side of the room. Kiera's eyes watered as she tried to look through the smoke and fire, she didn't know if what she was seeing was real or if she was just imagining it.

"Hello? Who's there?" she croaked out and coughed as her throat burned. "I need help! Please!"

The man didn't move; he didn't seem to care about the burning room around him.

Kiera squinted her eyes, trying to see the person better. She could tell the outline didn't belong to a fireman, as it would've had equipment and a thick suit on.

"Help me!" she cried out again as she struggled to get up. A coughing fit took over her body and she fell back onto the ground. She groaned and rested her head back on the floor as she felt the pain surge through her body and her lungs start to burn. It was getting harder and harder for her to breath, as the smoke surrounded her.

"Kiera? Can you hear me?"

She couldn't say anything, but instead coughed again.

"Where is she?"

"Fifteenth floor."

"On my way!"

Kiera heard through her earpiece as she struggled to breath, but instead her lungs filled with smoke. Her eyelids started to get heavy and she felt the pain in her body start to fade. Kiera's vision went from orange to black as she started to fall unconscious.

"I found her! She's breathing!" She heard a voice say, but it seemed distant and faded.

She then felt something wrap around her and pull her up. She groaned and coughed, but couldn't seem to open her eyes to see who it was.

"Kiera? Can you hear me? You're going to be okay," she heard the voice say again, but it seemed so far away. It took her a little while, but then she realized it was Barry's voice talking to her.

"Barry?" she managed weakly and then coughed again.

She then felt wind brush across her face and whip through her hair, as she was pressed against something warm and firm. Suddenly the warmth left and was replaced by something soft below her. Her burning throat and lungs caused her to have a coughing fit before she felt something light and cold cover part of her face.

Kiera drifted in and out of consciousness, struggling to breath when she's awake and seeing the fire man in her nightmares when she goes unconscious.

* * *

The next thing Kiera knew she was gasping for air as she sat up quickly. Her eyes opened and she looked around, realizing she was in the hospital room in S.T.A.R. Labs. She wasn't sure how she got there. She took deep breaths and looked down, realizing she was wearing an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose. She pulled it off quickly and moved to get off the bed.

"Woah! You need to rest, Kiera!" Barry said after being startled awake. He quickly jumped out of the chair he was napping in and ran to her side, trying to push her back into the bed.

"I'm fine!" Kiera insisted, her voice coming out a little hoarse. She tried to push back against him, but Barry was stronger and she landed back on the hospital bed with a sigh.

"You inhaled a lot of smoke, Kiera. If I hadn't of gotten you out of there when I did, you're lungs could have been seriously damaged," Barry said as he pulled his chair up to sit beside her. "How are you feeling?"

"I have a headache and my throat hurts," she answered as she took a minute to take in how she felt. "And my back hurts," she added and winced as she repositioned herself. Hearing the commotion, Cisco and Caitlin entered to see if Kiera was okay. They stopped at the foot of the bed.

"Did you see the man in the fire? Did he need help? Was he a Meta?" Kiera asked as she remembered what she saw before she passed out.

"Man in the fire?" Barry repeated, confused. "What man?"

"Firestorm? No he's- they are on another mission. They are no where near here." Cisco said.

"I saw a man in the fire!" Kiera insisted and frowned when she was her friends' reactions. "You don't believe me…"

"I didn't see anyone else in the room other than you. You were alone, Kiera."

"You might have been hallucinating," Caitlin said, concerned. "You did hit your head pretty hard and smoke inhalation has been known to cause hallucinations…"

Kiera shook her head. "No, I know I saw him! He was just standing there in the flames!"

"Okay. It's okay, Kiera. Calm down. You're not there anymore. You're safe. Whoever it was is gone," Barry whispered as he tried to calm her down.

"You need to rest. Your blood oxygen level is still pretty low." Dr. Snow said.

Kiera sighed and rested back on the bed's pillow. Cisco and Caitlin left the room and Barry stayed for a little while to make sure she was okay.

* * *

Later that day, Caitlin helped Kiera take a short walk to stretch her legs. On their way down the hall they almost ran into Barry, who was coming back from a few hours at work.

"It looks like you're doing better," he said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

Kiera nodded and smiled back. "Just a slight difficulty breathing and my back still aches, but I do feel better."

The trio headed back to the Cortex and was greeted by Cisco, who was trying to repair Telegirl's suit.

"I think now is a good time to mention what happened earlier," Barry spoke up after Kiera sat down on a nearby chair.

"Earlier?" Caitlin asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, when I went to help Oliver and I was paralyzed by that device."

Kiera realized what Barry was getting at and shifted uncomfortably at the memory.

"I figured out it was a sonic weapon that using powerful sound waves, which against any human or Meta, could cause quite a lot of pain," Cisco added.

"Similar to Pied Piper's devices?" Caitlin asked and Cisco nodded.

"During that time, I could hear Kiera in my head, trying to get me to move, but I wasn't able to; no matter how hard I tried. Then the next thing I knew I was on the other side of the hallway," Barry continued. "I don't know how."

"You mean it wasn't you? Maybe Oliver helped you?" Caitlin asked.

Barry shook his head, having asked Oliver the same question earlier.

"Wait a sec! Do you guys think it's possible that Kiera's powers allowed her to move him out of the way?" Cisco asked, an excited grin spreading across his face.

"What?" Kiera's eyes went wide with shock. "You think I controlled his body?" Cisco shrugged in response.

"We can't rule anything out. I suppose since she has Telekinetic powers and our connection, it could be possible. And we can use each other's senses, so it doesn't seem too far out there," Barry said, thinking out loud.

"That's awesome!" Cisco grinned.

Kiera stared down at the floor stunned. Was it really possible that she had the power to control another human being's body? Could Barry do the same with hers if she needed the help?

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE:** **I hope you enjoyed this fun crime fighting chapter! (:**

 **My dad is a Respiratory Therapist, so he helped me a lot with what happens to people trapped in fires (Smoke Inhalation and such). Even though he probably won't read this, I have to say thank you to him for all of his medical help in this story. (:**


	20. Chapter 20

**WRITER'S NOTE: I realized the other day, that I've forgotten about adding Iris in some of the scenes. I apologize for that. I promise I didn't do it intentionally. So I wrote a family dinner to make up for it. (: I hope you like it.**

 **Also, Ravenmore45 brought some good points in her last review, so I thought I'd share the answers with everyone.  
** **Kiera does need to train a lot to successfully lift heavy objects like the car without side effects. You'll see more of that in ch 21. Can't say anymore about that.** **Kiera didn't think about the weight of the car before she tried to lift it. It took an enormous amount of concentration, which she was able to do because, like I've said before, it was a time of high emotions. She is able to use her powers at a higher level when she's in the moment (For example: moving Barry out of harm's way). And during times like those is when she finds out what she is really capable of and new powers emerge.  
** **And I did have Kiera fly up the burning building's stairs twice, but I didn't want to do it too much, as making herself fly/float is hard for her at the moment, plus I don't really want Telegirl to be known as just a flying hero, she also has other powers- stronger powers- which I want her to use more often.  
** **And yes, Telegirl carries some of Barry's blood with her, in case she gets hurt, but in the heat (no pun intended) of the moment, she forgot. Her mind had already gone through a whole lot (Lifting the car, helping the survivors and hitting her head hard twice) that by the time she fell through the desk and couldn't get up, she was in so much pain and her mind was foggy from lack of oxygen and hallucinations to remember that she had it.  
** **And the training involving Kiera's control of Barry's body will be interesting to write! I can't say anything more though (like when it will be or if it will be a two way street). You'll have to wait and see!**

 **Thank you all for your amazing reviews and feedback! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I promise you the next chapter will be _intense_!**

* * *

Before Kiera had woken up in S.T.A.R. Lab's hospital bed, Caitlin had started another blood transfusion with Barry's blood. His heightened healing ability was shared with her and helped her injured body heal quickly. With every passing hour, she felt better; her back pain faded, her slight difficulty breathing relinquished pretty quickly, tests proved that her blood oxygen levels and lungs had greatly improved, and her pounding headache started to diminish, though the effort it took to lift a car still seemed to have an effect on her mind.

The next day she was feeling a much better, except for the lingering headache, so Caitlin insisted she go back to her apartment to take it easy. Kiera spent the first half of the day unpacking the rest of her belongings. She used her abilities for fun, while also training herself and testing her mind to see if it had fully healed from the other night. She made her belongings float out of their boxes and fly through the air, before placing them in Caitlin's living room.

After the unpacking was finished, Kiera took Caitlin's advice and rested in front of the living room's television. She absentmindedly flipped through the channels until something caught her eye.

Central City News was on and the screen displayed a photo of Flash and Telegirl. Kiera turned up the volume as the reporter spoke.

"It seems Flash might be on the straight and narrow once more," the dark-haired man said. "Two night's ago, The Flash and Telegirl helped the police stop a criminal by the name of Anthony Davis. He robbed a gas station on Griffin Avenue, and before the police could stop him, he took a woman hostage. He managed to steal a car and sped away with the woman in the back seat. After a high-speed chase through the city, Telegirl made the car fly through the air and come to a stop, letting the police approach the vehicle. We received a video from a viewer, take a look."

A low quality video appeared on the screen. Kiera guessed it was taken from a nearby building. It zoomed in on Telegirl and Flash standing in the middle of the street, and then moved to show the car speeding towards them. Kiera watched herself focus on the compact car and the video showed it lift off the ground before soaring over their heads and landed behind them. Kiera bit her lip hard as she watched herself double over in pain from the effort it took to float the car.

The video played on and the sound of a gun firing echoed through the street, before The Flash caught the bullet before it could find it's mark in Telegirl's heart. The clip ended soon after the officers handcuffed the man and lead him to a nearby police car. The screen returned to the reporter as he spoke.

"We also have a reporter at the scene where Flash and Telegirl saved employees from a burning building two night's ago. We go to Alicia Hernandez live."

The screen changed and showed a woman in front of the damaged building that was sectioned off by yellow police tape.

"Thank you, Robert. The police have found no evidence so far, as to the fire being started deliberately. They say it started on the eighteenth floor at around 7 PM. The flames spread quickly and reports say that over three fourths of the office building is left severely damaged." The female reporter said.

The screen changed to show civilian footage of a yellow streak coming in and out of the burning building and then bits of interviews with the survivors; some thanking Telegirl and some thanking The Flash. Kiera smiled, she was glad to see that Flash was getting praise once more. Their plan was working; The Flash was once again becoming a hero.

As the reporter told newfound details concerning the scene behind her, police officers and investigators walked back and forth, examining the burnt scene. Kiera focused on the background, wondering if Barry was one of the CSIs working the case.

A minute later she got her answer as a tall slender man walked onto the scene and started to bend down to examine something off screen.

 _I can see you._ Kiera mentally said to him as she smiled.

 _You can? Where are you?_ Barry said, confused as he looked around the scene, desperately trying to find her.

Kiera laughed in the empty room as she watched him spin around and around in the background.

 _You're on TV, Genius._ Kiera teased.

 _Oh, right._ Barry's face reddened with embarrassment and looked into the camera several feet in front of him. The young scientist waved in the background and Kiera smiled wider.

 _Everyone's probably thinking you're crazy, Barry._

Kiera saw Barry glance around him and chuckle. _Yeah, probably. I should get back to work._

 _See you later, CSI._ Kiera replied and smiled. Barry smiled at the camera and squatted to examine a patch of the scene.

Kiera clicked the TV off and took a taxi back to the lab. Once there, she entered the Cortex and saw that the two scientists were working inside.

"You're both here. Good. I need your help," Kiera said as she walked toward the long desk.

* * *

Later that day, Barry visited the lab and told Kiera that Iris had invited her to their family dinner. Iris had mentioned it upon meeting her almost a month ago, but they hadn't had the time until now.

So Kiera returned to Caitlin's apartment and got ready. Barry picked her up and they landed on the West's front porch a few seconds later.

"Well I guess that's one way to get more volume in my hair," Kiera and Barry laughed as she fixed her wind blown hair and he opened the front door.

Kiera stepped through and the mouthwatering smell of food cooking welcomed them in. She looked around at the inviting home and smiled. Before her was a slender hallway and to her right stood a staircase leading up to the second floor. She turned and saw a comfy looking living room adjoined to a dining room. The whole house looked relaxed and lived in. She smiled when she remembered why this home looked so familiar; she had seen it many times in Barry's memories.

She didn't realize Joe was sitting on the couch parallel to them until he stood up and turned around.

"Hey, you made it just in time," Barry's adoptive father said and then added, "That's got to be a first, Bar!" He chuckled.

Hearing the commotion, Iris walked out of the kitchen that was connected to the dining room and smiled when she saw they had arrived.

"Good, we're all here- well, we also invited Wally, but he had other plans with some friends," she said and Joe frowned slightly. His newly found son was still getting used to being around his new family.

"I'm sorry we couldn't do this earlier, but it seems we've all been busy," Iris smiled, knowingly. "Anyways, dinner will be ready soon," She added and wiped her hands on a kitchen towel.

"Do you need any help, Iris?" Kiera offered. Iris accepted and the two women went to the kitchen to get the food ready before setting the table. The two men of the house sat on the couch and talked about things that happened at the precinct and cases they had while they waited.

A few minutes later, after pouring water into four glasses, Kiera turned to Iris as the young journalist placed steamed vegetables on a plate.

"Watch this," she whispered and stepped back. Iris turned to her, intrigued and watched Kiera close her eyes for a second as she slowly lifted her hands to be level with the glasses of water. A few seconds later, they started to float above the kitchen counter and Kiera stepped back again as they floated in her direction, before making their way towards the kitchen table. Iris followed Kiera as she slowly followed the glasses.

The floating glasses of water caught Barry's attention from where he sat on the couch and he and Joe watched as they landed in their designated places on the dining room table.

Kiera smiled, glad it all went smoothly and heard the others clap in amazement. She laughed and mocked a bow.

"That was amazing!" Iris said looking back at the glasses and noticing the water wasn't even sloshing against the glass walls.

"I think it qualifies as training," Kiera grinned.

"And setting the table!" Iris joined in and they laughed. "Dinner will be ready once we finish setting the-"

Iris was interrupted as a streak of yellow passed them and suddenly the dining room was set and ready for dinner. Barry sat back on the couch and grinned widely at his own trick.

"-table," Iris finished and the group laughed again. "Well I guess we're ready then. Boys, go wash your hands," Iris said, sounding like a mother ordering her children.

The group sat at the table a few minutes later and looked at the food in front of them. There was enough food scattered around the table to feed at least ten people- seven of them being Barry Allen and his fast metabolism. There was a large bowl of pasta, a bowl of steamed vegetables, a basket of bread rolls, a bottle of wine and a large bowl of salad.

"Everything looks and smells amazing, Iris!" Kiera complimented and smiled.

"Barry told us you love pasta, so Iris made her famous Angel Hair Pesto with chicken," Joe said, smiling proudly at his daughter.

Kiera smiled and glanced across the table at Barry.

 _You got that from my memories, didn't you?_ She mentally asked him.

 _It comes in handy._ He grinned.

The group of four filled their plates with the delicious food Iris had made and engaged in small talk. Kiera felt herself smiling more than she had in a long time.

She felt happy.

She felt loved.

She felt at home.

"So we heard you used to live in Coast City," Joe said halfway through the meal.

Kiera's hand paused, her fork piercing a piece of steamed broccoli. She felt her heart skip a beat at the thought of her hometown and the loved ones she used to live with. Even though it was a long time ago, the memory still seemed to be fresh, as if it were a wound that never healed.

"Yeah until about two years ago," Kiera finally managed after a minute of awkward silence.

The detective opened his mouth to apologize as he noticed Kiera's smile faded, but before he could Barry spoke up.

"She lost her parents at a young age and then her grandmother. She came here to start fresh," Barry explained as she watched Kiera struggle to keep her emotions from taking over.

The happy mood vaporized immediately and the group looked down at their plates, sympatric for Kiera's loss.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know…" Joe said.

"It's okay," Kiera muttered and blinked back a tear that was forming in her eye. "It's not your fault." She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but failed.

"It's a sore spot. We understand. We've all dealt with a loss of a loved one," Iris said and gave Kiera's hand a light squeeze. To try to lighten the mood, she added, "Does anyone want anymore wine?"

"Yes, please," Kiera said and made a more convincing smile as she lifted her glass.

The mood changed and the group returned to enjoying the food. Joe brought up some memories of Barry and Iris when they were young, causing Barry's face to turn as red as his alter ego's suit and Kiera to giggle. At first Barry hesitated, but silently Kiera persuaded him to show her the memories Joe was speaking of. So while his adoptive father reminisced, Kiera saw the actual events in her mind.

After a few stories, Iris stood up and offered dessert. Kiera followed her into the kitchen to help and soon they were bringing out a delicious looking raspberry cheesecake Iris had baked earlier that day.

They were just starting to enjoy their slices of the cake when Barry's phone rang. He scrambled to get his phone out his pocket and answered it quickly when he saw it was Cisco calling.

"What's up, Cisco?" He asked. He listened to his friend for a minute and his face suddenly became serious. "On our way!" He hung up quickly and stood up.

"What's wrong, Bar?" Joe asked after taking another bite of his dessert.

Kiera looked over at Barry, concerned and readied herself, in case it was a Meta problem or a crime.

"There's a robbery in progress at Gold City Bank. Cisco got a Meta alert," Barry explained and in a blink of an eye he was wearing his red and yellow suit. Joe stood up also and dialed the precinct.

"I'll go change," Kiera said as she stood up quickly and ran to grab her duffle bag that contained her own suit. She ran into the bathroom and came out a couple minutes later, dressed and ready to go.

The two Meta-humans stood in the entryway, ready to leave. Before Barry picked up Kiera, she turned to Iris, who was standing before the table. "I'm sorry we didn't get to finish," she said and frowned, "Thank you for inviting me. I had a great time."

Iris smiled back. "It's no problem. I'm used to it, between Dad and Barry." She laughed. Kiera smiled and suddenly she felt Barry grab her around the waist and they were gone.

Kiera felt the wind whip across her face, sending her hair flying behind her like a flag as he sped down the streets of Central City. She felt electricity surge through Barry as he held her close and ran towards the bank. The next thing she knew, she was standing against the railing of a second floor landing looking down at the bank's first floor. She glanced up and saw the stain glass dome in the middle of the bank's tall ceiling. It probably would have been bright and colorful if the sun was shining through it, but it had set a few hours before and the moonlight did almost nothing for the beautiful ceiling.

Telegirl looked down at the first floor. She saw the red and blue flashing lights of police cars outside the glass windows around the main door, lighting up the grand entryway. Everything inside was still and quiet.

"Did the Meta get away already?" Kiera whispered as she looked for any signs of movement.

Barry frowned from beneath his mask and sped them down to the first floor.

"There hasn't been any movement outside the bank other than the police. The Meta should still be inside," Cisco answered in their earpieces.

Telegirl turned so they were back to back as they looked around the bank.

"We know you're still here!" Flash lied as he looked at the shadows framing the large room. "We want to help you! Come out now before the police barge in here and make a scene!"

Nothing moved. The room was quiet.

 _I have an idea._ Kiera said mentally to Barry. _I might be able to mentally feel around the room to see if anyone's hiding._

[Do it.] Barry replied as he continued to look around.

Kiera closed her eyes and focused on the objects around her. She sensed desks, counters, computers, chairs, waiting line stanchions, couches, lights, potted plants and pillars as she felt the room around them with her mind. Suddenly she felt something different- something soft, something pulsing and…. breathing?

Kiera's eyes opened quickly and she looked in the direction of the object, but there was nothing there. No person or animal; just a wall and a lamp.

 _What is it?_ Barry asked mentally as he noticed her turn and stare off in the distance. _Did you feel something?_

Kiera's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion has she looked at the shadowy wall. _I think I can feel a person there, but there's nothing. How is that possible?_

 _Are you sure it's a person?_

 _Yes, I felt a heartbeat and their body moving slightly as they breathe, but I can't see anything._

 _Now I have an idea._ He grinned.

Kiera blinked and saw the yellow streak move away from her. Right before he reached the wall, it seemed to move out of the way; but it wasn't a wall. It looked like a section of the wall, but in the shape of a person. Flash stopped before it and the human shaped piece of wall started to change. Patches formed all over the body, like puzzle pieces, until they were looking at a young woman about their age. She had curly dark brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail, olive skin and black tight-fitting clothes. She held two large bank bags full of money in her hands that were once camouflaged with her.

Kiera blinked several times, unsure of what she just saw and Flash stepped back confused. "Well that's new," he muttered under his breath.

"She can camouflage herself," Kiera whispered to the two scientists who were anxiously waiting behind the lab's desk.

"Camouflage? That's awesome!" Cisco said.

Barry quickly regained his composure and spoke to the woman in front of him. "Listen, we're here to help you! You don't need to do this."

"Oh, but I do! I have no choice!" the woman replied and ran along the wall towards the side of the room.

"You always have a choice! We can help with that!" Telegirl shouted as she watched the woman try to escape.

Flash quickly sped towards the thief and blocked her from getting any further. Kiera held out a hand and flicked it, causing the bags of money to fly off and fall to the floor on the other side of the room.

"No! You don't understand! I _have_ to!" She shouted and gasped as the bags left her hands. The woman lunged forward, desperately trying to hit Flash in an attempt to defeat him.

Flash chuckled and in a burst of yellow, he was standing behind her. She spun around and clumsily tried to land another hit. The speedster moved again, each time easily avoiding her efforts to punch him.

"I could do this all day!" Barry said under his mask. The woman growled angrily as picked up a floor lamp and threw it in his direction. Flash quickly leaned to one side and watched as the lamp flew past him and slammed into the tile floor, sending sparks flying around it. The woman used the distraction to step back and camouflage herself against the wall. She touched her clothing and it camouflaged along with her.

Kiera saw the woman fade away out of the corner of her eye and she flickered her hand quickly, making the woman fly to her right and skid across the floor. As she fell, the wall appearance on her body started to fade in patches and she was transformed back into a woman.

The Flash watched and then ran to the woman, pulling her up off the floor. "We warned you! You don't have to do this!"

"You don't understand! If I don't, I'm dead!" The thief said, her eyes wide with fear. She gritted teeth as she tried to get out of his grip. Then an idea came to her and she grabbed his arm. Suddenly the arm of Flash's suit started to fade into the floor below him.

"Woah!" Barry exclaimed and backed up quickly, letting go of the thief.

The woman immediately lunged past him, towards her fallen bags of money. As soon as she let go Barry's arm started to turn back to the original red sleeve.

Telegirl reached out her hands to stop the Meta-human, but then she heard a bang and glanced behind her. She saw shadowy outlines of officers outside the bank's door as they tried to unlock it.

 _They're almost in! We need to wrap this up!_ She told Barry.

 _Pipeline?_ He mentally asked as he ran towards angry thief and stopped her from reaching the stolen money.

 _Pipeline._ Kiera repeated and nodded in his direction.

Kiera blinked and a streak of yellow zipped through the bank before disappearing out a back door, leaving Telegirl alone in the bank's grand room.

Kiera turned towards the door when she heard a click and the doors start to open. Kiera saw an officer point his gun inside as he cautiously stepped inside. Before she could react, she felt something grab her waist and everything went blurry.

The next thing she knew she was standing at the Pipeline's entrance looking into a closed cell that contained the angry thief. The woman banged on the glass doors and shouted inaudibly at the group before her.

Kiera glanced over and saw Barry beside her and Cisco and Caitlin stood behind them, ready to close the Pipeline's door.

"Well that was fun," Kiera laughed as Cisco touched the screen, causing the door to lower between them and the cell.

"That just made me hungry again," Barry pushed off his mask and laughed. "Big Belly Burger?" he asked as he looked around at his team.

"Big Belly Burger," Cisco nodded and grinned. They blinked and Barry was gone, leaving the building far behind as he sped towards their favorite fast food restaurant.

Kiera pulled off her mask and followed the two scientists to the Cortex. As they walked through the open doorway, Cisco spoke up.

"Camo! That's her Meta name!" He grinned widely.

"As in camouflage?" Caitlin asked and he nodded.

"Good one, Cisco!" Barry said. The team looked over to see him sitting in a chair with his feet up on the edge of the computer desk and devouring a double cheeseburger in his hand.

Kiera laughed and walked toward the fast food bags lined up before him. The team took their orders out of the bags and sat around the desk to eat.

* * *

Barry offered to take Kiera and Caitlin home later that night, but Caitlin made up an excuse that she needed to run more tests on Kiera to make sure she healed, so Barry went home alone.

"Okay. He's gone asleep, let's do this," Kiera said a little while later after she used their connection to sense he had finally fallen asleep.

The team walked downstairs to the lab's warehouse that had been converted into The Flash's indoor training room. The trio stayed in S.T.A.R. Labs until around 2 AM, before they finally retired to their own apartments.

Kiera felt her mind pound from the training earlier as she rested under a blanket on Caitlin's couch. After a couple hours of tossing and turning, she finally fell into a deep sleep, but her rest was plagued with nightmares of Ruby Siren succeeding in controlling Barry again and of the man in the fire coming after her. The much needed sleep didn't last long however, as her phone buzzed, telling her it was time to get up and get ready for the day. She groaned and reluctantly turned off her phone as she slowly sat up.

* * *

The next two days went by slowly and quietly. They worked, trained, and fought crime before Kiera made up excuses to stay later. After Barry would leave, her and the two scientists would sneak down to the warehouse to work. The three of them only got a few hours of sleep each night before they would repeat the process all over again.

On the third day, Kiera built up the courage to go see Ruby Siren again.

Flash and Telegirl stood on the slanted walkway and Kiera took a deep breath before nodding to Barry that she was ready. He tapped the touch screen and the door rose to reveal the villain sitting against the back wall of her cell. She looked up and smirked as the rising door revealed her two capturers.

"Come to threaten me again?" The villain said in her usual smooth-as-butter voice.

"Not this time," Telegirl replied and stepped forward.

 _Now._ She mentally told Barry.

The speedster tapped the screen again and the cell doors opened. Before Ruby could escape, Flash sped into the cell and pinned her to the wall. She clenched her jaw as he yanked her arms behind her back.

"You like to do that, don't you, Flash?" She teased and smirked as she squirmed.

Kiera felt anger start to bubble up inside as she stepped into the cell. Telegirl used her Telekinesis to help push her arm forward, punching Ruby hard across the face. The force in which she punched caused Ruby's mask to fly across the small cell, revealing the woman's full face. Kiera smirked and used the painful distraction to gain access into the villain's mind by quickly grabbing onto the woman's arm. Ruby Siren groaned in pain and squirmed under Flash's grip, giving Kiera time to scan her memories before the villain realized what she was doing and mentally pushed her back out.

Telegirl gasped and stepped back as the mental push made her head feel like it was being split in two. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, trying to focus on getting it under control.

Flash looked back at Kiera, concerned. _Are you okay?_ He asked her mentally.

She nodded in response and opened her eyes just in time to see the villain take advantage of the situation. Ruby slammed her heeled boot into Flash's foot, causing him to step back and let out a pained scream.

As Flash stepped back and loosened his grip on the woman's arms, she pulled her arms down and lunged for the door. Telegirl thought fast and put her hand up, flicking it downward, causing the door to slam in villain's face.

The three Meta-humans barely fit in the tiny cell, but Telegirl managed to step back, out of the way as Ruby fell against the back wall.

Telegirl turned back to the doors and tried to pull them apart, but now that the cell was closed, Kiera's powers didn't work.

 _I can't get them open._ She mentally told Barry.

"Open the doors! Cisco, Caitlin?" Flash shouted as he looked up at the camera in the small cell.

"On it!" Cisco's voice boomed through the speaker.

Kiera glanced back and saw Ruby trying to push herself up from the floor as she reached for her mask. Telegirl extended her hand and the black and red mask flew into her hand. Ruby followed the mask's path with her eyes and glared at Telegirl. Kiera heard a click and suddenly she was standing outside of the cell as the glass doors closed again. Telegirl smirked and waved the mask for the villain to see.

"Got it!" she said and Ruby lunged forward, slamming her fists into the glass doors.

After the large round door lowered to the ground between the cell and the heroes, Kiera exhaled. "Well that was close!"

Barry nodded and pushed off his hood. "Did you get anything useful from her mind?"

"Not much before she pushed me out," Kiera sighed. "Just bits and pieces of her killing her dad and step mom," Kiera winced at the memory. "No names. Not hers, not her parents, nothing." She frowned.

"We can try again another time. We'll figure it out, I promise. It just might take a while," Barry said.

"In the meantime, we can run her face through the police's databases again, now that we got the mask off," Kiera smiled as she held up the villain's mask.

Barry nodded and smirked.

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE: I know the Camo scene was kind of short, but I only wanted Camo to be a minor Meta problem; a chapter filler and a way to show Telegirl's and Flash's teamwork in action.**

 **I apologize for not adding Wally into the dinner scene, but I wouldn't have been able to end that scene the way I wanted if he was there and still didn't know Barry was The Flash.**

 **Also, I didn't detail Cisco, Caitlin and Kiera's secret plan for a reason, but I promise it will be revealed in the next chapter!**

 **Thanks again for reading! I look forward to your feedback, suggestions, and questions!**


	21. Chapter 21

**WRITER'S NOTE: Today's my 22nd birthday, so I thought I'd give you guys a gift too! :D The new chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

"We're going hiking for our second date?" Barry asked as he followed Kiera up a path winding its way up a small mountain that stood about half a mile outside of Central City.

Kiera turned back to him and laughed. "Not exactly." Kiera kept her mind focused on blocking Barry from her thoughts. She didn't want him to ruin the surprise.

"What does that even mean?" Barry chuckled and picked up his pace so he could walk beside her.

"You'll just have to wait and see," Kiera smiled and turned her attention back to the inclining path.

"Or-" Suddenly Kiera's world blurred and the next thing she knew she was standing on top of the mountain's cliff, looking down at the city's skyline in the distance. The city seemed so small, seeing it from this far away.

"I could speed us up to the top and you can tell me why we're here," He finished and grinned widely.

Kiera sighed. "You're not that patient, are you?" she teased and pushed her wind blown hair behind her ear.

Barry turned to her, smiling. He saw the lowering sun sparkle off her hand and he grabbed it to look closer. "You're still wearing it," he said, grinning wide as he saw the cheap bowling alley ring he gave her several days before.

"Yeah, well, when a man gives you a ring, you wear it," she joked and smiled back.

Barry chuckled as both of their faces started to turn pink.

"So why are we up here again?" Barry asked after a minute and turned back to the skyline. "Are we having another picnic with a view?" He looked around for any signs of a picnic basket or blanket.

"Well sort of, but not up here," Kiera replied as she looked back at Central City.

"What do you mean?"

"We're going to fly to it," Kiera smiled.

"Fly? You can hold us both up at the same time? Are you sure it's safe? I mean we can stay right here. I do like my feet touching the ground-" he nervously rambled on.

Kiera laughed as she quickly wrapped her arms around his torso and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, the two Meta-humans were floating above the ground. Kiera made them fly off the cliff quickly and down towards the bottom of the cliff, only slowing when they were a few feet from the ground. Then she made land on a large rock at the bottom of cliff.

Barry, having practically screamed his head off during the whole ride, now slowly looked around, not sure if they were safely on the ground yet.

"That was fun, right?" Kiera asked as she looked up at Barry, who was clinging to her tightly that he was almost suffocating her. After he realized they were safe, he slowly loosened his grip.

"Uh, fun? I don't really know what to think," he said as he looked around, seeing hundreds of miscellaneous sized rocks all around them; some as big as cars while others were only the size of a loaf of bread. The one they had landed on was only a little bigger than their feet. "I didn't know you could fly two people at once."

"Cisco and Caitlin helped me train. I wanted it to be a surprise, so we trained at night while you were asleep. Cisco had the idea of using a crash dummy that was your weight when I trained- well after I messed up a few times," Kiera cringed and glanced over at a large rock that was split in two from one of her failed attempts. "But as you saw, I'm able to do it now," She looked back at him and smiled.

"Are you sure?" Barry asked as he looked at the rock Kiera had just looked at.

Kiera nodded and smiled, reassuringly. "I didn't get only about four hours of asleep for the past few days for nothing!"

Barry watched her for a minute, not sure if they should try it again, or not.

"So do you want to have dinner or not?" Kiera asked, looking over at the city to her right. She had come here a few times before, to mentally map their flight pattern and to practice.

Barry nodded a minute later, finally giving in after Kiera mentioned food. She smiled and took his hand. She glanced at him to make sure he was ready and after he signaled her, she closed her eyes and focused on the two of them. A few seconds later they were slowly ascending up and over a patch of pine trees.

"Now the fun part," Kiera said after opening her eyes. They floated in mid air for a brief moment before she made them fly towards the city at an accelerated speed.

Barry smiled wide as he looked down at the barren landscape below him. They were moving fast- not compared to Barry's speed- causing the wind to rustle through their hair. Kiera kept her focus on flying their bodies through the air, not daring to think of what would happen if she failed. She couldn't help but smile as they flew through the air.

They made their way towards the city and before they were in eyesight of anyone's wandering eyes, Kiera lowered them towards the ground.

They gradually landed on the dirt ground and Kiera let out a sigh of relief. "I told you I could do it!" she smiled. "I think you can run us the rest of the way."

Barry grinned wide and picked up Kiera before running into the city.

A few seconds later, the speedster stopped in an empty alleyway.

"Where are we going again?" Barry asked, realizing he didn't ask her where they were going to have dinner.

Kiera laughed. "You know, remember?" she said and tapped her temple. "Just think."

Barry grinned and focused on Kiera's thoughts. A second later they were off again.

Barry stopped at path that wrapped around a park in the heart of Central City. The sun was starting to set, illuminating the grassy flat land in an orange glow. The park was bustling with activity; families were having picnic dinners on the grass, playing sports, dogs ran around catching each other and flying balls and several kids played happily in the park's playground while mothers watched from the benches nearby.

"Come on!" Kiera shouted, smiling as she spotted what she was looking for. She pulled Barry down the path. She stopped at the edge of the grass where a handful of food trucks were lined up feeding hungry customers.

The couple looked around at the choices that ranged from pizzas and tacos to funnel cakes and smoothies. Barry laughed as he spotted a red truck with a large yellow lightning bolt painted on the side and words over it that said, ' _Flash Frozen Yogurt_ '.

"You know you're the city's hero when they name a food truck after you," Barry laughed and nodded in the truck's direction. "First Jitters, now this."

"Maybe The Flash should pay them a visit! That'll get them good publicity," Kiera said as she looked at the truck and laughed.

"Maybe he will," Barry grinned.

After a few minutes they finally decided what food they wanted; Barry got a large pizza with his favorite toppings- pepperoni, olives, and jalapeños, and Kiera got two tacos with a side of chips and salsa. Kiera paid for the food with money she earned from working at the lab and they sat on a nearby bench to eat.

Over the city's tall buildings, the night sky was painted with vibrant colors; Oranges mixed with yellows and reds, circling the fleeting white sun that slowly disappeared behind the skyscrapers. Even though the sun was gone, the city was humming with activity. In the park, people shouted, laughed and talked while car horns, the hum of vehicles and sirens echoed through the streets. The sounds muddled together to form a sort of song, one that made Barry and Kiera relax. It seemed Central City was going to have a rare peaceful night after being tormented by Meta-humans for so long.

Kiera placed her empty plate on the bench beside her and leaned back to look up at the darkening sky. She smiled. She felt calm sitting there with Barry. She rested her head on his shoulder, feeling his warmth flood over her and banish night's chilly wind away. Kiera heard the faint thump of Barry's plate being placed beside him and then his arm wrapped around her back to pull her closer. She kept her eyes on the painted sky, wanting to remember every second of this perfect moment. She realized she'd never really enjoyed Central City's beautiful sunsets until tonight.

Suddenly the oranges and yellows blurred and turned into flames and a tall dark building turned into the outline of a man. The same man Telegirl saw right before she passed out in the office fire.

Kiera gasped at the sight and sat up quickly, pulling out of Barry's embrace. Her eyes were wide as she tried to catch her breath. The image seared into her mind.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Barry asked as he leaned forward and took Kiera's hand to comfort her.

"The man. The man in the fire," Kiera managed in between deep breaths. "I saw him." Kiera looked down at the ground, rapidly blinking as if to wipe the image from her mind. "It was like a vision, but a memory."

"If he was real, he's not here now. He can't hurt you, Kiera. He will _never_ hurt you," Barry whispered as he gently rubbed her back. She slowly looked over at him, fear in her eyes. "I promise."

Kiera took a deep breath as she tried to pull herself together. She didn't know why this fiery man terrified her so much; she didn't even know if he had been anything more than hallucination brought on by her smoke inhalation and concussion, but deep down she had a feeling he was in fact real; a real Meta-human who could be anywhere and could appear at any moment.

Kiera slowly nodded at Barry's promise and relaxed as his long fingers rubbed lazy circles on her back. She looked in his eyes, sensing compassion and confidence in the fact that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her.

Without realizing it, they leaned toward each other until only two inches separated them. Barry slowly raised his hand to her cheek and brushed his thumb across her cheekbone, feeling her soft skin. Kiera's breath caught in her chest and she kept her gaze locked on his hypnotizing bluish green eyes. Their breathing increased, hot air escaping through their slightly parted lips and causing their faces to redden. Kiera's arms locked around his neck and her fingers buried themselves in his messy brown hair. His free arm wrapped around her lower back and pulled her closer as they closed their eyes. Their heads tilted to the side and leaned in until their lips met. Kiera felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest as the kiss continued. She needed more. She needed [him]. She couldn't lose him. Her arms tightened behind his neck, pulling him even closer and their kiss deepened. She felt his hand slide from her cheek to the back of her neck to support her as they kissed, their lips squishing together.

It seemed like the passionate kiss lasted forever, but at the same time it seemed like it only lasted a second. They didn't want it end, but they had to come up for air. Slowly they parted and inhaled deeply, trying to catch their breath. Wide smiles formed on their faces and Barry gently took her hand.

"I believe you," She whispered after her heart and breathing slowed, referring to his earlier promise.

Barry leaned forward and stole another kiss, this one short, but sweet. He couldn't seem to keep his lips from hers. She giggled and ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck as they pulled back slightly to look into each other's eyes.

"I love you," Barry whispered, causing Kiera's heart to skip a beat. At first she couldn't think, she couldn't breath, she couldn't even see. She blinked and focused on his eyes, reminding herself to breath as she stared at the handsome man that just confessed his love to her.

"I love you too, Barry," she managed a moment later after collecting her thoughts. His grin made her heart flutter and her breath caught in her chest once more. He made her feel weak and she knew if she were standing she would have fallen to the ground.

Their gaze didn't leave each other's loving eyes for several minutes. No words were spoken, not even mentally, because they didn't need words to communicate.

"Should we see if the Flash Frozen Yogurt truck is worthy of its title?" Barry asked, breaking the silence several minutes later.

Barry's mind turning to food after their passionate kiss made Kiera laugh. She nodded her head and they stood up. They held hands and threw their plastic plates in a trashcan nearby as they walked back to the food trucks.

They approached the red and yellow truck and were greeted by the friendly owners. Kiera glanced at the white board's menu lining the inside of the truck's open window covers.

It listed all of their many flavors and toppings and above the lists another panel displayed their special creations. Kiera smiled and nudged Barry; bring his attention to colorful panel.

The sign displayed four special creations, all named after the famous Meta-humans of Central City.

 _The Flash_

 _Savory Vanilla Frozen Yogurt with Strawberry Syrup and Decorated with Lemon Slices and a Single Cherry on Top_

 _Or Sweet Red Velvet Frozen Yogurt with White Chocolate Chips and Our Specially Made Lightning Bolt Sugar Cookies_

 _Reverse Flash_

 _Refreshing Lemon Frozen Yogurt with Fresh Strawberries, Lemon Slices and Blackberries_

 _Captain Cold_

 _Frosty Blue Mint Frozen Yogurt with Chunks of Peppermint and Coconut Shavings_

 _The Trickster_

 _Delicious Bubble Gum Frozen Yogurt with a Fun Combination of Gummy Bears, Jelly Beans and Rainbow Sprinkles_

Barry tried to hold in a laugh as he read the creations based on his alter ego and his enemies, making them all sound delicious.

I _s it bad that I want a Captain Cold?_ Kiera teased mentally as she read the descriptions over and over again.

Barry chuckled and stepped toward the glass counter that displayed the large tubs of ice cream. "I'll take the second Flash creation and she'll take-" he paused and looked back at Kiera. She nodded and grinned. "-a Captain Cold." He took out his wallet and paid for their dessert.

The women behind the elevated counter beamed, excited that their unique creations were chosen. They rang up their order and set to work creating their orders.

 _I think it's safe to say the city's faith in you is restored._ Kiera said mentally as she turned around to see a line developing behind them.

Barry chuckled as he also glanced back. _I guess this is my proof. Unless they're just here for a refreshing dessert._ He teased.

Kiera punched his arm lightly and laughed. _Do I have to read their minds to prove to you they trust The Flash again?_

 _Maybe…_ He grinned.

"Here you go," a woman's voice said, bringing them out of their mental conversation. Barry looked up and saw they women leaning down to hand them their orders. They took the cups from their hands and thanked them before walking away from the truck so the next person in line could order.

Kiera looked down at her order and smiled as she picked up the red spoon that had The Flash's yellow lightning bolt carved into the end of the handle.

They made their way back to the nearby bench and sat down to enjoy their cold desserts. They each took a bite, enjoying the different flavors that danced on their tongues.

Barry loaded his spoon with Red Velvet yogurt and white chocolate chips and brought it up to Kiera's lips before she could pick her spoon up again. She smiled and looked between him and the spoon a couple times before opening her mouth to allow him to place the spoon in her mouth.

After swallowing the savory ball of frozen yogurt that practically melted in her mouth, she smiled wide and leaned forward, snatching a sugary lightning bolt from his bowl. Kiera quickly took a bite out of the slightly soggy cookie before Barry could even try to take it back.

"Hey!" He shouted, pretending to be upset at her for stealing one of his special treats. She laughed and took another bite.

"Should have been faster!" she teased, knowing he couldn't use his powers out in the open.

Barry laughed and watched as Kiera loaded her own spoon with a large portion of her frozen yogurt. She held it up to his lips and smiled at him. He opened his mouth and took the minty treat from her spoon with his lips.

"It's almost as cold as his gun," Barry laughed after swallowing.

Noticing a few crumbs clinging to her lips, he leaned forward and kissed her softly, their desserts' sweetness mixing together to make the short kiss very sweeter.

They pulled back a few seconds later and smiled happily at each other before returning to their frozen yogurt.

* * *

Early the next day, the team walked into S.T.A.R. Lab's underground warehouse that was mainly used as a secret training area for The Flash and now Telegirl. Cisco, Caitlin and Iris stepped onto the small platform in the center of the warehouse while Kiera and Barry, dressed in their alter egos' suits, climbed up a nearby metal scaffolding and readied themselves.

"Do just like we trained, except instead of rocks or dummies, you lift Barry," Caitlin told Kiera as she sat down in front of a computer that would monitor Kiera's vitals.

"It worked yesterday," Kiera said and smiled as she looked down at the trio below her. "I just have to do it again," she told herself.

"Whenever you're ready," Cisco shouted up to Kiera.

She turned to Barry. "Ready?" she whispered, sensing he was still a bit nervous, even after the successful flying adventure they had yesterday. He nodded after taking a deep breath and looked back at her.

They walked to the edge of the scaffolding's platform and Kiera closed her eyes, focusing on their bodies. A minute later, they were floating a foot above the platform before moving forward and slowly flying down toward the warehouse's floor. Kiera opened her eyes and continued to concentrate on making them descend.

Barry grinned as his feet touched the ground and Kiera sighed in relief.

"Great job, Kiera! You're getting better. You're brain activity stayed within your normal range," Caitlin said as she stood up.

"Now let's try something harder!" Cisco grinned.

Caitlin glared at him, silently telling him he was rushing. She turned back to the two Meta-humans. "I think we should try that again a couple more times."

They agreed and returned to the scaffolding. Kiera tried it twice more, each time going a bit farther away from the scaffolding before touching the ground and each time it went smoothly.

"Should we see if Kiera can mentally move Barry again?" Cisco asked after the group took a ten-minute break.

"I could try, but I'm not sure how I did it last time, or if it really was me," Kiera answered after drinking a bottle of water. She looked over at Barry, who was standing against the railing, deep in thought.

 _Barry? You okay?_ She mentally asked him, not wanting to read his private thoughts.

He looked up quickly and shifted his weight onto his left foot. "Hm?" he asked.

"We were thinking of seeing if Kiera can move you with her mind again. Do you want to try?"

"Yeah, sure," he nodded and pushed himself away from the railing.

Kiera took a deep breath and stood up as she tried to convince herself it was possible.

The two Meta-humans stepped down off the platform and walked to a large clearing in the warehouse. Kiera stood to the side and turned to face Barry, who was facing one end of the clearing. He leaned forward slightly and planted his feet firmly on the ground, in a runner's start position. He glanced over at Kiera, who stood about ten feet to his right and nodded his head, silently telling her he was ready. She nodded back and took another deep breath. She focused her mind, thinking only about moving him across the large room. She tried to imagine him running a few feet, but nothing happened. The small crowd on the platform held their breath as they watched, anxiously waiting for Barry to move.

Kiera tried several more times, but failed to make him even move an inch. She sighed and shook her head.

"I can't. Nothing's happening."

"You can, Kiera," Barry whispered, trying to encourage her.

"Maybe it wasn't even me. Maybe it was Barry. Maybe he just moved after seeing the gun. It makes more sense than me having the ability to steer another person's body," Kiera rambled on.

Seeing Kiera's increasing frustration, Barry turned to walk towards her, but Caitlin put her hand up to stop him and tell him she had this. She stepped off the platform and walked to Kiera.

"Kiera, Barry said it wasn't him, so it must have been you somehow," the young doctor said softly as she placed her hands on the woman's shoulders. "You moved him. [You] did it. You can do it again. You just need to believe in yourself. You've done amazing things in the last month, Kiera. You saved a bank full of people by creating a wall with your mind! You opened a hurricane so you two could walk in! You've moved objects with your mind! You've flown through the air! You've saved people from _two_ fires! You took down a mind-controlling villain! And lifted a _car_! You can do this too." Caitlin looked in her eyes, trying to encourage her friend.

Kiera took a deep breath and nodded her head after Caitlin's speech. "I can do this," she repeated and turned back to Barry. He turned back toward the clearing's center and signaled he was ready. Caitlin stayed by her side, as moral support as she held out her hand towards him and focused on moving him a few feet.

"5…4…3…2…1…" Kiera muttered to give her time to convince herself she could do it. After the countdown ended she flicked her hand in the way she wanted him to go, but nothing happened.

She repeated it several times, focusing on only him and giving herself pep talks in order to convince herself, but still Barry didn't move. She lowered her arm twenty minutes later and shook her head in defeat.

Caitlin got another idea and turned back to Kiera. "The last time it happened, Barry was in grave danger, so maybe it only works when you feel fear. When he's in mortal danger," she said. "Do you remember what happened?"

Kiera nodded in response.

"Picture that moment in your mind. Picture Barry in danger. Focus on that and imagine moving him to safety."

Kiera glanced at Caitlin, unsure. She'd been trying to move him for over half an hour with no success and she was starting to grow tired.

Finally she gave in and closed her eyes. Kiera took a deep breath to relax herself and pictured the terrifying moment in her mind.

The blurry outline of the man with a gun materialized in her mind. Her adrenaline started to spike as the gun moved to point at Barry.

Her words replayed in her mind as she focused on the gun. _Barry? Barry! Move!_ The pain flooded her body. _Move! Run! Get out of there!_ She felt the dreaded helpless that surfaced as she watched the scene play out through Barry's eyes.

 _No! Barry! Listen to my voice! You can do this! You have to do this! You need to move! NOW! Barry!_

Kiera shuddered as her body suddenly felt weak and her head started to pound. Her legs gave out and and felt herself fall to her knees.

She felt a warm hand land on her shoulder and then a soft feminine voice calling her name.

"Kiera? Kiera? Are you okay?"

After a minute, she managed to open her eyes and look up from the warehouse's concrete floor. Her body was shaking uncontrollably as if she was out in a blizzard. She looked up as a hand lowered to her level and offered to help her up. Kiera followed the arm up until she saw it's owner.

Barry. He was safe. He hadn't been shot.

Suddenly she remembered what happened. She slowly lifted her arm and placed her shivering hand on top of Barry's warm one. He pulled her up and supported her as she struggled to stand.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice coming out weak.

"You did it," Barry grinned. "You succeeded in moving me across the room!"

"I did?" Kiera asked and looked up at him stunned. He nodded and grinned.

"And at five hundred and eighty miles per hour!" Cisco said and she turned her head to see he and Iris had left the platform to stand beside Caitlin.

"I think you should rest a while, Kiera," Caitlin said, concerned. "It seemed to have taken a lot out of you this time."

"I'll take her to Med Bay," Barry agreed, feeling the weakness in his own body as a result of their connection, and in a streak of yellow he was placing her on the hospital bed inside the Cortex.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Barry, Caitlin, Cisco and Kiera stood in a dusty junkyard on the outskirts of Central City. All around them were stacks of old cars and piles of miscellaneous parts and tools with dirt trails weaving in between them to form a maze. The place looked like it had been abandoned for years, save for the small shack at one end that required a few dollars to enter.

"What are we doing here again?" a disgusted Caitlin asked from where they stood beneath a S.T.A.R. Labs E-Z up that was set up at the very back of the junkyard, so no one would interrupt them.

"Training," Cisco beamed as he took a trip from the S.T.A.R. Lab's van parked close by to where they waited.

"Out here? Why?" Barry asked as he scanned the mountains of cars surrounding them.

"So Kiera can practice lifting cars again and not have to worry about damaging them," Cisco explained as he set a cooler of sodas on a table.

"Smart!" Barry grinned and caught a can that Cisco threw in his direction.

"Don't act so surprised!" Cisco teased and opened his own can of soda.

Kiera glanced around and tugged at her Telegirl suit, glad that Cisco convinced her and Barry to wear them before they arrived; just in case any picker happened to come by and saw her floating a car, they'd see Telegirl and not Kiera.

"Are you sure you should try this today? You almost passed out a few hours ago, Kiera," Caitlin asked.

"I'm fine now. It passed quickly and Barry's blood helped me recover. I don't feel weak or shaky anymore," she said and nodded. "I'm fine, really,"

"Okay, but if you feel any of it come back. [Any] of it, you'll tell us and we'll stop. Deal?"

"Deal," Kiera smiled and placed the earpiece in her ear as she stepped out from under the E-Z Up. She walked out to the center of the large dusty clearing and looked around.

"Let's try something small first. Try that tire on your left," Cisco said in her earpiece. She nodded at the tent a couple hundred feet away and then looked for the tire Cisco mentioned. She saw it leaned up against the side of an almost flattened car and slowly raised her arm toward it.

Kiera focused and raised her hand higher in the air; the tire obeyed and rose into the air before stopping about ten feet from the ground.

"Good. Now add another."

Kiera slowly lifted her other hand, causing a nearby tire to float up and join the first. She made them fly through the air for a minute before setting them back down in the dirt.

She spotted an engine resting on the hood of a flattened car. She outstretched her hands again and focused on lifting it off the ground. Her mind protested against the three hundred and fifty pound engine for a minute, but with more concentration it rose above the pile of cars and floated overhead. Kiera smiled and spun it several times before it landed back on the rusty old car, causing it to creak and groan.

 _Ready to try a car?_ Barry asked her mentally as she turned to the tent. She nodded and glanced around.

"Which one should I lift?"

The team scanned the nearby piles of cars for a small lightweight car to start with.

"How about that Bug?" Caitlin asked and pointed to a faded old Volkswagen Bug that's seats, steering wheel and tires were missing.

"That could work," Kiera agreed and readied herself. She closed her eyes and focused on sensing the shape of the car before she mentally tried to lift it. The old car groaned as it slowly started to rise from its place on the ground. Kiera ignored the slight headache opened her eyes once it started to ascend, focusing on making continue to fly up toward the blue sky.

A rat, disturbed from its nap under the car, shrieked and it rang through the clearing, startling Kiera. She gasped and started to lose her focus causing the rusted car started to freefell toward dirt floor. She struggled to regain her focus. She quickly extended her hand, palm parallel to her body, and tried to catch the car.

Right before it could crash, the car stopped and floated a couple feet off the ground. Kiera let out a sigh and made it slowly start to ascend again.

"Can you make it fly horizontal to the ground?" Barry asked in her ear.

Kiera moved her hand and the car started to move forward, floating over the cars framing the clearing. She kept turning as she made it fly around and around in a circle.

After a few rounds, Kiera's mind started to pound. She winced at the pain, but quickly regained her concentration. Barry felt the pounding in his own head and stepped forward, ready to run and save her if she fell and dropped the car.

"I can't hold it much longer," she muttered as her extended arm started to shake.

"Set it down… carefully," Cisco said in her ear and Kiera nodded. She slowly lowered her arm and the car followed.

Once the Bug's tires were touching the ground she let go and bent forward as her head pounded.

"I think that's enough for one day," Barry said and grabbed a cold water bottle from the cooler before walking out to Kiera. She gladly took it and quickly downed the refreshing water. The headache started to fade away and Kiera relaxed.

After Kiera rested for a few minutes, the team packed up and piled into the van.

* * *

The next morning, Barry was busy in his lab at the precinct, Cisco and Caitlin were working in S.T.A.R. Labs and Kiera was training in converted warehouse below ground.

In her Telegirl suit and mask, Kiera closed her eyes and focused on the scaffolding before her. She raised a hand and started to lift it towards the ceiling. Before it could make it more than four feet off the ground, an alarm rang through the large room.

Kiera gasped at the sudden noise and opened her eyes to see flashing red lights light up the room.

The distraction caused her to let go of the scaffolding and it crashed a few feet in front of her. Kiera jumped back as one of its metal railings broke off and flew towards her. She quickly raised her hand to shield herself and the flying shrapnel stopped in mid air. Relieved, Kiera made it float down to the ground slowly.

"Kiera? There's a fire outside the lab! Come to the Cortex!" Caitlin's voice boomed over the room's speakers.

"Coming!" Kiera shouted and ran towards the warehouse's elevator door.

A few moments later, she ran through the Cortex's doorway to see the two scientists scrambling to pull up the security camera's feed outside.

The monitors on the wall showed a live feed of a large fire spreading from a line of trees lining the sidewalk towards the lab's side entrance.

"What happened?" Kiera asked as she caught her breath.

"Not sure," Cisco muttered as his fingers feverishly typed on his keyboard. "No electrical problems in that area," he said as he read his screen.

"There's a fire hydrant nearby, right?" Kiera asked and Caitlin nodded. "I'll go put it out!"

"Be careful!" Caitlin shouted after her as she ran down the lab's hallway.

Kiera pushed open the door and stepped outside. The sound of crackling fire to her right made her turn towards the noise.

A large tree near the sidewalk was ablaze making it look like a lit torch. Smoke bellowed above the tree, causing a large black cloud to form overhead. The fire had spread from the tree, across the grass and was making it's way toward the lab's exterior.

Kiera scanned the sidewalk until she found the nearest fire hydrant- the same one Tidal Wave had once used to obtain more water for his hurricane. She ran toward it and pushed her hands outward quickly, making the fire hydrant's top to fly off. A strong stream of water gushed up out of the hydrant and Kiera moved her hands, making the water float over to the fire. She moved the stream of water to soak the grass between the fire and the building's walls first and then started to put the fire out.

Distracted by the task at hand, Kiera didn't notice something move behind her and the fire hydrant. Suddenly she heard a loud crackling noise as she was pushed forward onto the dry grass only a few feet from the flames. She screamed in pain as she felt her back heat up quickly, as if her back was pressing up against a hot stove. Even though Cisco had made Kiera's suit fire resist, she still felt her back heat up. She fell forward on the grass and quickly moved to look behind her.

Her eyes widened and she froze. "Uh guys?" she said into her Telegirl suit. "We've got a problem. A _big_ problem!"

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE: I know I promised this chapter would be intense, but while writing I realized the chapter would have been way too long, so I split it in half and left you with a cliffhanger. :D I PROMISE that the next chapter will be intense! I swear!**

 **Also I was reading some of the older chapters and realized I made Kiera's and Barry's relationship develop too fast. I didn't think I'd write this long of a story when I first started! But your reviews, favorites and follows really encouraged me to continue writing. (: If I could go back and rewrite some of the scenes involving them, I would make their relationship grow slower, but oh well.**


	22. Chapter 22

**WRITER'S NOTE:**

 **Hey everyone. I am SOOO sorry I haven't posted in two weeks. I've been busy and so didn't have much time to write. I really wanted to finish this chapter quickly so you guys didn't have to wait too long to find out what Kiera saw, but unfortunately I wasn't able to. But anyways I finally finished it. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Smoke bellowed above the flames that greedily burned their way towards S.T.A.R. Labs' side entrance, devouring anything and everything it could. The thick gray smoke blanketed the building, hiding any view of the bright blue sky beyond it. The only sound at the moment was that of the crackling flames devouring everything they could reach and reducing them to ash.

Lying on the grass only about six feet from the flames was Telegirl. Her back, which was once designed with blue, silver and grey, was now covered in black coated fire resistant fabric, having changed when the fire that hit her and forced her down onto her stomach just a moment ago. Sweat dripped down her face as the intense heat caused by the fire surrounded her. Her eyes were wide and lips parted slightly as she stared at the sight in front of her. Even though the air around her was practically boiling, she felt a sudden cold wave travel down her spine.

Standing on the edge of the parking lot that was only fifty feet from her, was a large muscular man in a black and dark orange suit and mask. Most of his face was covered in shadows cast by the dark hood lined and framed with the same dark orange color as the suit. Small flames flickered over his broad shoulders and arms that became balls of fire dancing in his cupped hands.

Kiera recognized him instantly from his suit. "Topaz," she muttered under her breath, using the man's nickname that associated him with his team, The Jewel Thieves. The fire spreading over his body didn't seem to affect him at all and Kiera realized he might have been whom she saw in the office building's flames. Topaz was the fiery man of her nightmares.

"Topaz? As in one of The Jewel Thieves? How did he escape prison?" Cisco asked in her ear.

She thought fast, guessing why he was here; he was trying to get his team member, Ruby, out of the lab's prison.

"I don't know, but he's probably here for Ruby. And he's a Meta also," she whispered as she watched the villain. Telegirl slowly pushed herself up from the grassy bed she was laying on and stood up to face her new enemy.

 _Bar-_ Before Kiera could finish sending a mental message to Barry, a yellow streak blazed through the parking lot and stopped beside her. The Flash turned and looked at the man before them.

 _That was fast! Even for you!_

 _The connection remember? I knew you were in trouble. I felt the pain in my back._ He winced as repositioned his shoulders and glanced at her back. _The suit's still intact_.

Kiera nodded and turned her attention back to the villain standing in the parking lot.

Telegirl glanced at the growing fire beside her; its flames had almost reached the exterior walls of S.T.A.R. Labs.

"I'm here for Ruby and if you stand against me, you will burn!" Topaz shouted as if he had been waiting for the Flash before he spoke his demands. He suddenly reached his arm out towards them. The fire on his shoulders and arms grew in height and shot out towards the two heroes.

Flash quickly pulled Telegirl with him as he ran out of the way. They stopped several feet to their left, away from the flames, just in time to see the fireball fly into the burning grass and explode as it hit the ground. Kiera didn't have time to stop the incoming flames before it hit them and caused them to fly backwards onto the grass several feet behind them.

"Barry? Kiera? Are you okay?" Caitlin's worried voice rang in their ears as she and Cisco watched the attack live from their security camera's footage.

The two Meta-humans groaned in response as they struggled to get back up. Kiera's injured back protested from the impact and she pressed her lips together in order to hold in a scream.

"Topaz… He's going to try to free her-" She paused as she looked over at where the villain once stood, only to find he wasn't there. She scanned the fiery scene before their feet and finally saw a dark form walking through flames toward the lab's exterior. She lifted a hand and tried to focus on stopping him, but the pain spreading through her body made it difficult to concentrate. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, trying to focus.

Barry looked up to see the fire licking the stone at the base of the round building. At Topaz's signal the flames moved toward the side door and made quick work of burning it down. Barry glanced over at Kiera, wondering if she was able to do anything to stop him. Noticing pain written on her face, he remembered Caitlin explaining the syringes of his blood stored in the small pouch at her hip. He quickly unzipped it as Kiera continued to concentrate. Barry pulled out one of the syringes labeled with a red sticker to confirm they were his blood and gently dispensed it into her arm.

Kiera had successfully tuned out the pain and was focusing on mentally reaching Topaz as he walked through the side door and into S.T.A.R. Labs. Her eyes were closed as she flicked her hand, causing the villain to slam against the hallway's right wall. She smirked and quickly opened her eyes. Realizing Barry was sitting beside her and fumbling with her suit, she quickly looked over at him confused.

"Oh uh," Barry mumbled when he realized she wasn't concentrating anymore, but instead was looking at him with a look of bewilderment. "I remembered the syring-"

"I got it," Kiera interrupted with a small smile and tapped her temple, telling him their connection had helped in answering her questions.

"Right," Barry turned back to the burning hole in the side of the lab. Sensing that Kiera had successfully dazed Topaz, he quickly stood up and grabbed Kiera. He ran around the building to a safer entrance and sped through the building until they were standing ten feet from the villain. Alarms blared and red lights flashed through the hallway, demanding an evacuation of the building, but no one moved.

Topaz groaned as he struggled to get back on his feet. He rubbed his head and turned to see the two heroes were now standing in his way. He narrowed his eyes and fire shot past him flying towards their heads. Flash reacted quickly and pulled Telegirl out of the way. As they were dodging the fire, Topaz used the distraction to escape. He quickly lowered himself to the ground and into a kneeling stance before placing his hands on the hallway's floor.

The ground beneath his feet suddenly started to crumble as the metal supports in the concrete below him melted from the intense heat he emitted. A large cracking sound echoed through the hallway followed by the sound of crumbling pieces of concrete and metal falling down onto the floor below the one they were on. Topaz fell with the collapsing floor and disappeared from view.

Telegirl and Flash stopped a second later and scanned the dark hallway that was starting to fill with smoke as the flames inched their way toward them. Barry's eyes stopped when he saw the hole in the floor. He quickly stepped forward and Kiera followed.

Flash and Telegirl stopped before the hole and looked down in it. The gapping hole was an estimated four feet in diameter with cracks spreading from it like vines and disfigured glowing hot metal bars, that once formed a net-like pattern inside the concrete floor, now stuck out of the hole like teeth.

"Where did he go?" Telegirl whispered as she tried to look through the debris and dust for the escaped villain.

"That hallway leads to the pipeline," Flash whispered back, realizing Ruby Siren would only be confined for a couple more minutes if Topaz made it to the Pipeline.

"I'll get us down there," she whispered and held out her hands. Flash quickly took her hands and Kiera closed her eyes as she concentrated. They started to float above the cracked floor and then lower into the hole.

A few seconds later, Flash and Telegirl landed beyond the rumble and looked around at the dusty hallway.

Flash took Telegirl down the hallway quickly and didn't stop until they were standing a few feet behind Topaz, who was just about to turn the corner into the pipeline's corridor.

Telegirl flicked her hand and he flew back against the opposite wall. Flash raced toward him and used his speed to land a hard punch to the man's gut. The villain groaned loudly and doubled over. After recovering, he straightened up and narrowed his eyes at the scarlet speedster before him as he slowly extended his arm. Kiera knew what was coming. Fire. She quickly stepped forward toward the other two Meta-humans and raised her hand to help defend Flash.

Fire spread over the villain's arm and once it reached his fingertips, it shot out towards Flash like a flamethrower. Telegirl quickly flicked her wrist and the fire stopped in its path, crackling and licking the air as if it were resting on a hard surface. Kiera quickly pushed the fire back at the villain, giving them time to move in front of the doorway, blocking him from the pipeline.

The fire didn't seem to affect Topaz all that much, the fire's bright glow blinding him for only a few seconds. The orange-and-black-clad man blinked several times and a low growl rumbled in his throat as he saw the two heroes blocking his way. Flames sparked across his shoulders and down his arms like a scarf hanging around his neck. He lowered himself to the ground and placed his palms on the concrete floor. His fingers immediately started to glow orange and the floor between them started to rumble as the metal beams inside began to melt. Suddenly cracks appeared, causing Flash and Telegirl to jump back onto solid ground. They continued to back up as the cracks chased them up the slanted hallway and towards the pipeline's entrance.

Realizing what Topaz was trying to do, Kiera quickly turned to Barry.

 _I'll make us float above the ground. Ready to fight?_

Barry nodded in response and Kiera closed her eyes, concentrating on only their bodies and envisioning them floating above the ground. A few seconds later, their boots lifted from the crumbling floor and they began to float back down the short hallway. Barry kept his eye on the villain, ready to attack if he tried to stop them and ready to protect Kiera as she worked to keep them in the air.

Topaz watched the two heroes fly towards him. He screamed in anger and frustration and quickly stood up as he extended his arms quickly, causing flames to shoot out towards them.

 _Kiera!_ Barry shouted mentally as he saw the fire fly towards them. He looked down at his feet floating above the ground, trying to figure out how he could move them out of the way. Kiera barely had time to open her eyes before the fireballs hit their chests hard, causing them to fly backwards and hit the pipeline's doors with a loud bang. Telegirl and Flash groaned in pain as they struggled to get up.

"Cisco! Caitlin! Lock down the pipeline!" Barry shouted at the air and waited for their voices over the loud speaker, but nothing came.

Kiera and Barry exchanged worried glances as they wondered if the fire had reached the cortex and if their friends were all right.

"Cisco? Caitlin?" Barry shouted again, fear causing his voice to crack.

They turned their attention back to the approaching villain. Kiera winced as she tried to reposition herself, so she could stop him. Barry's blood was still in her system and was helping to speed up her healing process, but her back still protested from the burn earlier and now the slamming in the pipeline's door.

 _You alright?_ Barry mentally asked as he felt the phantom pain shoot up and down his own back.

 _Let's stop him and then find out._

As they helped each other up, Topaz tapped the pipeline's touch screen several times and the large round door behind them started to rise.

 _Take care of him; I'll keep Ruby from escaping._ Kiera quickly said as she turned around and focused on lowering the door with her mind.

Flash jumped from one broken piece of concrete to the other at superspeed and stopped before Topaz a second later.

"You'll never succeed at getting Ruby out!" He shouted angrily.

The villain chuckled and raised his hand, which was suddenly engulfed in flames. "Try and stop me, Flash!" He said with a smirk that screamed he had a secret plan in motion at that very moment.

Barry narrowed his eyes behind his red mask and lightning cracked across them, before spreading across his body.

Kiera gritted her teeth as she struggled to push the door back into place with her mind. The task was much harder than she had thought; it was as if the door was resisting.

Suddenly Kiera's mind started to pound and ache as if she were trying to lift another fully loaded car, but this time something was different. She gasped at the sudden pain and took a step back, losing her concentration.

The door rose quickly to reveal Ruby Siren standing on the other side. Topaz must have opened her cell when he touched the monitor earlier. Kiera narrowed her eyes as she saw her nemesis standing before her, donning a mischievous smirk. Her black and red mask was absent on her face, so Kiera could now see her sharp features more clearly; her bright green eyes shone playfully and her red lips were twisted up in her usual smirk. Ruby's long black locks framed her tanned skin, making her almost breathtakingly beautiful, even though she was a deadly criminal.

"I should have known!" Telegirl spat out as realized Ruby Siren had been using her Telekinetic powers to push the door up while she was trying to keep it down.

"It's going to take more than that to keep me in that dreadful cell!" Ruby said and stepped through the circular doorway.

"You had this escape planned out even before we captured you!" Telegirl muttered as it dawned on her.

Ruby Siren's red lips twisted up into a wicked smile at the statement.

"Topaz has been helping me all along. I broke him out after our other partners and we acted for the cameras, stealing in broad daylight like I made the others. A policeman was more than-" the villain paused and smirked as she remembered. " _Willing_ to fake the documents and report that he was arrested like the others. So we were free to steal what we want together."

Kiera's eyes narrowed as Ruby bragged about her successful plan.

"All that work and I'm sorry to say it will all be for nothing!" Telegirl shouted as her hands clenched into fists.

Ruby laughed as if she were just threatened by a child.

Kiera glanced back at Barry to see how his battle against Topaz was doing. Flash was easily dodging streams of fire that was hurled at him from a line of fire surrounding Topaz, but Flash managed to land a few punches every once in a while.

Kiera quickly looked back at Ruby Siren and extended her arms as she tried to attack her mind with a Brain Blast.

Ruby stared back at her, easily deflecting Telegirl's attempts. "So you want to play?" she smirked. "I'm in as long as Flashie gets to play also." The villain's eyes sparkled as she looked over Telegirl's shoulder to watch Flash.

"You're tricks won't work on him anymore!" Telegirl shouted over the battle that was happening behind her.

"You two got closer while I was in that cell? How sweet… Not!" The annoyed villain spat out and flicked her extended hand, causing a pipe to break beside her and fly at Telegirl.

Kiera barely had time to react. She held up a hand and the pipe stopped a few inches from her hand before falling to the floor. Telegirl flicked her hand and one of the large silver pipes connected to the pipeline's door broke open, producing bellows of gas that engulfed the villain.

Ruby Siren coughed and struggled to step out of cloud, giving Telegirl time to fly over the broken pathway behind her and land on a large piece several feet away. Kiera coughed from the thin air left behind by the fires burning around them and turned toward Topaz and Flash's fight.

 _We need to get them both in the cell so we can put these fires out!_ Kiera mentally said to Barry as she glanced between his fight and Ruby.

Flash ducked as a large wave of fire flew over him and hit the wall behind him. _Do you think you can fly Topaz over to Ruby before she recovers?_

 _I can try. Move away incase he struggles_.

Kiera closed her eyes for a few seconds as she focused on Topaz. Barry sped to her side and stood ready to pull her out of the way of a fireball. Once Kiera was ready she opened her eyes and extended her arms toward the villain. He screamed in anger and tried to squirm as he started to float above the fire ring around him. Kiera clenched her jaw as she struggled to keep him in the air and flying toward the pipeline's entrance.

With one final push, she threw him towards Ruby and he fell onto the concrete floor in front of her. Topaz quickly recovered and shot a fireball towards his enemies before trying to help Ruby.

Flash saw the fireball fly towards them in slow motion and quickly pulled Telegirl with him as he jumped to another piece of the walkway. The fire flew past and exploded against the wall behind them.

 _Fly?_ Kiera quickly asked as she glanced at Barry. He nodded and she focused on their bodies. Their practice made the process easier and in a matter of seconds, they were floating again and then flying towards the two villains. Topaz's hands were on Ruby's arm when he heard them; he quickly turned his head in time to see a red boot fly towards him and kick him hard in the nose. He cried out in pain and fell back, knocking Ruby Siren down with him.

The two heroes landed on the large piece of unbroken concrete a couple seconds later and Flash sped them through the gas cloud, stopping before the fallen Meta-humans.

Ruby groaned and looked up to see Flash and Telegirl towering over her.

Telegirl smirked. "Know when you are bet, Ruby," she said as she crossed her arms.

The villain narrowed her eyes and grumbled to her partner as she tried to push herself up. "Never!" She shouted as she finally got back on her feet. She swiftly kicked in Telegirl's direction, but Flash pulled her out of the way before her heeled boot can make contact. Ruby Siren grunted angrily and turned to face them again.

Topaz slowly rose behind her and looked at the heroes with fiery rage in his eyes. Fire suddenly sparked across their suits, clinging to the fabric like Velcro.

Telegirl and Flash gasped and tried to put the fires out, momentarily forgetting about the villains.

 _Water?_

 _There should be a water pipe in the wall._ Barry mentally said back as he glanced at the corridor's walls before trying attempting to put the flames out that furiously licked at his suit.

Kiera quickly closed her eyes and tried to focus on feeling the water inside the wall. After searching for a few seconds, she finally felt the right pipe and flicked her hand. The wall opposite of them ripped open and a pipe burst, sending a steady stream of water out onto the broken concrete. Kiera quickly directed the stream toward them and the falling water extinguished the fires and drenched the heroes.

Telegirl made the pipes connect again and Flash looked up as he remembered who caused the fires.

"Kiera," he whispered, crestfallen. "They're gone."

Kiera quickly looked over to where they had last seen the two villains, only to see destroyed pipeline's entrance was empty. Debris fell from a hole in the ceiling, showing them their escape route.

"They can't be far," Kiera said and focused on flying them over the fractured concrete and up through the hole.

Once they landed on the first floor, Flash and Telegirl quickly looked around for any evidence of the villains' route. All they saw was the orange glow coming from one end of the hallway as the fire continued to burn its way into the building. Smoke clung to the ceiling of the hallway like a dark cloud layer, causing Kiera and Barry to cough as their lungs desperately searched for oxygen.

Kiera searched for any human-like forms in the fire. "They're not here!" Telegirl shouted over the roar and crackle of the fire and the blaring alarms overhead.

Flash nodded and sped them down the clear end of the hallway and outside into the fresh air.

"I'll do a perimeter check," Barry said and sped off in a streak of yellow. Kiera looked around as she heard the cries of emergency vehicles nearby; realizing they were on the other side of the round building, Telegirl quickly ran around the side of the building. Even though her healing body ached from the falls and burns, she didn't stop running until she turned the corner.

What she saw made her inhale sharply in surprise. The lawn and front part of S.T.A.R. Labs was black from the fire's touch and small spots were still burning. Half a dozen fire trucks were parked in front of the building and firemen were drenching the building with water from their large fire hoses. Firemen ran in and out of the burning building, trying to help put the blaze out. A few police cars were scattered around the building and policemen were standing around making sure the scene was secure and keeping the growing crowd a safe distance from the busy scene.

Kiera spotted two familiar people standing with a police officer and quickly jogged toward them.

"Caitlin! Cisco! Thank God you two are safe!" she shouted as she jogged. The two turned around and smiled in relief when they saw Telegirl approach.

"What happened? Are you guys okay?" Caitlin asked, concerned and then glanced around for Barry.

Kiera nodded. "A few burns and bruises, but we're fine. He's doing a perimeter check."

"Did you guys capture them?" Cisco asked.

Kiera sighed and shook her head. "They escaped. We've got a lot of work to do to find them. Who knows what Ruby has planned now that she's free," she said as she turned toward the burned building. She noticed the fire seemed to be dying out and firemen were tending to small hot spots.

A gust of wind blew back their hair and suddenly Flash was standing next to them. "I looked everywhere within a five block radius. They've disappeared," he sighed.

"She probably flew. I practically taught her how," Telegirl muttered.

"We'll find them," Barry promised, seeing Kiera's defeated look behind her mask.

"You and Ruby Siren have developed a sort of connection via Telepathy; do you think you could locate her with your mind?" Cisco asked.

"I can try, but she has the ability to block out my mind, so I'm not sure it will work."

Kiera closed her eyes and focused on reaching for Ruby's mind. Nothing happened at first, but then muddled information flooded into Kiera's mind. Kiera couldn't seem to make any of it out; every time she tried to concentrate on the information and sort it out her head would pound and ache. She winced as the information started to overload her mind. Kiera put her palms on the sides of her head and gritted her teeth as the pain became stronger and stronger with very second.

"Kiera? Kiera?!" A concerned voice asked in the distance, the voice and surrounding noise being distorted as if she was hearing them from underwater. She couldn't make out who it was or even where it was coming from. The information seemed to swirl in her mind like a tornado making everything else extremely hard to focus on.

 _Kiera?! Are you okay?_ This voice was clearer. It rang through her head like an alarm clock.

 _B… Ba… Barry?_ She managed, her voice sounding faint.

F _ocus on my voice. Push everything else aside. Focus. Take a deep breath._ Barry's soothing voice told her.

She did as he said; she felt her chest expand with air and then deflate as she let out the air slowly before she mentally pushed the swirling flurry of information out of her mind. The pounding started to lessen and Kiera felt herself relax. She slowly opened her eyes and a faint wave of dizziness hit her, causing her knees to buckle. Barry's strong arms caught her and helped her stand upright before she could fall.

"Are you okay?" Caitlin asked as she stepped forward to examine her patient.

Kiera nodded slowly, wincing at the dull pain it created. "Y… Yeah. I think Ruby tried to Brain Blast me," she said and thanked Barry for his help.

"She can do it too? Wow!" Cisco exclaimed.

"I need to look at your burns," Dr. Snow said as she saw the blackened areas covering over half of their suits before glancing at the charred building. "Well I guess the lab isn't an option right now. We can go to my apartment. I have emergency supplies there."

"I'll stay here to keep watch-" Cisco spoke up, "- _if_ you guys buy pizza after you're done! I'm starved!"

The team laughed and agreed before Caitlin, Barry and Kiera headed towards Caitlin's car. Everyone was silent as they walked; they were all thinking of what had just happened and how Ruby and Topaz were somewhere out in the world doing who knows what.

Kiera frowned as she thought of Ruby Siren out in the world again with all of her powers and dangerous skills. They may have gotten her mask off, but Kiera knew that wouldn't stop her from continuing to steal, brainwash people, and possibly kill anyone who gets in her way. And they didn't know much about Topaz; he could be even crueler than Ruby. Was he just a pawn in Ruby's plan or were they truly partners? They had schemed together to set up their master plan of taking the team by surprise and it had worked. What was their plan once Ruby was free?

"Did we get any hits off of Ruby's complete face?" Kiera asked, breaking the silence as they all got in the car and buckled up.

"Unfortunately no. It seems she really did manage to erase every last piece of info the world had on her," Caitlin answered as she backed the car up and drove out of the lab's parking lot.

Kiera's fight with Ruby in her pipeline cell a few days ago had all been for nothing. Even though she had managed to knock her mask off, they still weren't any closer to finding out who Ruby really was.

The trio arrived at the apartment building several minutes later and Caitlin pulled out a large bin of medical supplies from her coat closet. Their burns were all minor, as their suits had mostly protected them from the fire. She quickly got to work, cooling down the burns, cleaning them, applying cream and bandaging them up carefully. Barry's blood added to Kiera's system earlier helped her burns start to heal faster than normal, but Caitlin still insisted they rest for a little while.

Caitlin picked up Cisco while the two Meta-humans rested on Caitlin's couch and watched the news. He reported that the scene had finally been cleared after the firemen finally smothered out each hotspot. There was a lot of damage, from the fire and the battle, but S.T.A.R. Lab was secure as most of the building was fortunately unharmed.

Barry sped out to get their requested pizzas and a couple minutes later they were all sitting in Caitlin's living room and eating as Kiera and Barry recalled the fight.

"Who knows what Ruby has planned now," Kiera sighed and put her empty plate on the coffee table. "I can't try to locate her again with her knowing and sending another Brain Blast my way."

"We'll figure something out, we always do," Caitlin said and washed her pizza down with her glass of soda.

"I just hope we do before it's too late; before she brainwashes too many people and discards them like trash," Kiera frowned and stared down into her glass of soda as she recalled how Ruby had used her own teammates and then left them for the police to find. She knew anyone Ruby harmed now would be on her. It would be because she failed to keep Ruby Siren imprisoned.

She had no idea how they'd find a woman who'd successfully hidden from A.R.G.U.S. for ten years and how they'd capture her again when she had Topaz on her side. This battle wasn't going to be easy, but Kiera knew she'd try her hardest to win. She'd imprison them, even if it killed her.

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE:** **I changed Topaz's whereabouts from being missing after he was released from prison to be that Ruby had everyone think he was back in jail like the other Jewel Thieves. (I updated Chapter 14, so you won't get confused). Sorry about that.**

 **Answering questions-  
** **Ravenmore45 asked if Kiera will work on trying to control Barry's body longer than a few seconds. Yes, there will be another training scene in the future. I wanted this ability to be very difficult. Even more so then being able to lift a car or say a house, so it will take a lot of practice and can really only be used successfully when Kiera's fear skyrockets upon seeing Barry almost get murdered/injured like before.  
** **She also asked if their connection during the body control ability could be similar to Firestorm's in a way, as in Kiera hears Barry in her mind as she's controlling his body. I do like that idea! It's similar to when Nightsense took away Barry's senses and he used Kiera's eyes to help him control his own body. He spoke to her in her mind as he moved. So yes, I was thinking of doing something like that.  
** **She also asked if Barry and Kiera's relationship will take the next step- being intimate. Honestly I am not sure yet. It probably will happen, but I am not a smut fanfic writer, so I would not describe it, probably only mention it/ imply it.**

 **Marie asked what Telegirl's suit looks like again. I sort of described it again in this chapter, but if you want a better** **description please reread chapter 5.  
**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this plot twist! I'd love to hear what you guys thought, so please PLEASE review with your thoughts, suggestions, etc.  
And as always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please include them in your review or send me a PM. Thanks!**


	23. Chapter 23

**WRITER'S NOTE: Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than normal, but I worked on it as quickly as I could to make up for the long wait last time.** **I hope you enjoy this chapter. (:** **The next two chapters will be INTENSE, I can promise you that.**

* * *

The news focused on S.T.A.R. Lab's fire for couple days after the event. They recycled pictures taken by bystanders and photographers as they reported the facts over and over again. Some of the pictures, the ones getting the most attention, were ones of The Flash speeding around the building in a blur of yellow and him and Telegirl standing in the parking lot as the last of the flames were tended to. Reporters interviewed bystanders about what they saw and whether or not they thought it was a Meta-human attack or not. A few claimed they saw two masked people fly out of the building and disappear into the clouds, confirming Kiera's suspicions that Ruby Siren used her Telekinesis to fly her and Topaz out of the lab.

The team returned to S.T.A.R. Labs the morning after the fire and walked around to the lab's back entrance in order to enter. They made their way to the Cortez, relieved to see that it was still intact.

Kiera spent the whole day after the escape in the Cortex's small training room where she could get some peace and quiet to try and find Ruby. Every hour or so, she'd get frustrated and Telekinetically throw a nearby object across the room, causing Cisco or Caitlin, sometimes both, to come in to make sure she was okay. Late in the afternoon, after they witnessed a couple dozen boxes and miscellaneous objects flying across the room, Cisco called Barry to come and help her calm down.

Barry arrived a few seconds later and carefully approached Kiera, who was leaning forward in a chair, her elbows on her knees, her arms folded up over her head and her hands hidden in her messy blonde hair.

"Kiera?" Barry asked softly as he kneeled down before her and placed a hand on her back, gently rubbing in soothing circles.

She didn't move for a minute as he continued massaged her back, not even acknowledging he was there. Even though her bruises and burns had pretty much healed completely, she still felt pain surge through her body and spike in her mind. It wasn't the type of pain felt after a physical injury; it was pain felt from feeling hopeless and despair mixed with the pain and weakness she felt from overworking her mind.

"It's useless. _I'm_ useless," she mumbled into her shirt and slowly moved her arms as her head lifted. "I can't find her. I can't find them."

"We will find them," Barry whispered as he looked into her watery eyes, his heart aching as he felt her emotions. "I promise. Right now, you need to take a break. I've been told you've been in here all day," he glanced around at the dim small room. "You need to get out of here. Eat some food, rest. I can feel what's going on in your head," he whispered as he pushed off her face and gently took her head between his hands, moving her head forward so he could kiss her forehead.

After the gentle kiss, Kiera slowly looked at Barry, tears of exhaustion and frustration running down her cheeks. "I can't rest. I have to find her before she hurts someone. Before she brainwashes someone."

"And if she shows up here and you are too weak from lack of food and rest? Then you won't be able to stop her from escaping again," Barry whispered, looking at her with compassion and concern.

Kiera stared deep into his eyes as she realized he was right. She'd be no use to the team if she were lethargic. Ruby Siren would probably end her quickly and without a fight.

"Alright," Kiera whispered. "But only a few hours."

Barry smiled and gave her a quick kiss before helping her stand and walk out of the room. Cisco and Caitlin looked up from their desks and Iris looked up from her phone from where she was standing nearby. They had all been concerned for her and they were all relieved she was taking a break.

"Good, you came," Iris said with a smile. "Cisco has an idea about how we might be able to find Ruby Siren and Topaz."

Kiera's eyes quickly turned to the young mechanical engineer. "How?"

"Vibing," he said with a wide grin. "We have her mask, so that should be enough to help me find her." He pointed to Ruby's red and black mask on the desk.

The anxious group stood in a circle like pattern around the Meta-human as he took a deep breathe and reached out to take the mask Barry was holding in his hand. Cisco's face froze in a shocked look as the images started to appear before his eyes. Everything was a dark blue blur for a few seconds until forms appeared and cleared into Topaz and Ruby without their suits or masks on. Cisco felt himself drawn toward the scene and in his vibe he stepped forward. He saw glimpses of couple sitting in a lavish room, enjoying each other's company and laughing as if they had figured out a great plan. Before Cisco could step forward again to try and hear what they were saying, the image changed to Topaz kneeling on the floor of what looked like a workroom or garage and working on a small mechanical box. He closed the box's hatch and walked over to a large glass container, large enough to fit one or two people. Other parts were scattered around the room, large rectangles of glass, wiring, spare metal pieces and much more. Cisco gasped as he figured out the glass box was some sort of cell to imprison a large animal or more likely, a human being.

The red and black mask fell from Cisco's hands and landed on the stone floor of the Cortex. Cisco blinked and saw the world form around him. He saw his friends coming towards him with concerned faces and the Cortex's walls formed behind them.

"Cisco? Dude? You okay?" Barry asked in a worried tone as he grabbed his friend's arm to help steady him.

"What did you see?" Iris asked.

Cisco nodded several times and blinked rapidly as if to make the vision process in his mind. "I, uh…" he paused, unsure of what he just saw.

"What did you see? Did you see where they are?" Kiera asked.

"All I saw was them in a fancy room, maybe a living room? And then a work area. Topaz was building something. I think it was some sort of glass cage or prison cell," Cisco explained with wide eyes after a couple deep breaths.

"A cage? For what?" Iris mumbled, thinking out loud.

"I think it might be for Flash and Telegirl. It looks like they want revenge for us imprisoning Ruby after all," he said as he glanced between Kiera and Barry.

Barry frowned and ran his fingers through his hair. "That's not good," he muttered.

Kiera shook her head, agreeing with them and took a deep breath. "Now we just need to figure out where they are before they are finished with their plan."

"But first you need to eat and rest, Kiera," Caitlin said in a soft, but stern voice.

"I can't-" she paused and looked around at her concerned friends. "Fine," Kiera mumbled as she gave in.

"Good then-" Barry said then he vanished in a streak of yellow and returned a few seconds later with several bags marked 'Big Belly Burger' on his arms. "We all can eat here!"

The Cortex filled with laughter and then they all pulled up chairs as Barry set the bags on the large desk. The team ate and talked about things that happened to them that day, jokes, or lighthearted small talk. After Kiera downed two hamburgers and two containers of French fries- having not eaten since early that morning- she stared off in the distance, tuning out the laughter and conversation as she thought about Ruby and Topaz. They could be out robbing a bank or jewelry store at that very moment or more likely finishing the cage Cisco mentioned earlier. What where they planning that involved possibly capturing Telegirl and Flash and not just killing them on sight? A cage wouldn't hold two Meta-humans who could phase through objects and open any door with their mind. Ruby must know this, so maybe they had figured out how to contain them like the team had in the Pipeline? Kiera didn't want to find out. She needed to figure out a way to secretly obtain their location, so they could stop Topaz and Ruby before they finished.

Kiera felt a warm weight rest on her forearm, disrupting her thoughts and bringing her back into the room. She turned her head to see it was Barry's hand. He gently slid it down until his fingers interlocked with hers. His concerned face made her offer a small smile in an attempt to convince him she was okay, but she knew it was useless. He knew what she was feeling and pretty much what she was thinking about. She silently sighed and leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder.

 _We will find them. Don't worry. _Barry mentally told her.

 _I can't help, but worry. So many things could go wrong even if we do find them. What if they kill someone who gets in their way? What if they kill someone just to get our attention? Or kill him to lure us into a trap and they capture us in that cage Cisco saw?_ Kiera rambled on, getting more nervous by the second.

 _I won't let any of that happen._ Barry said as if it were a fact and not a promise. He freed his hand and wrapped that arm around her, interlocking his other hand with hers and gently pulled her closer to him.

 _She's smart. She's been a spy and an assassin for many years. Trained by the best. She's deadly, Barry, and now so is Topaz. It's going to be very hard to stop them now._

 _Doesn't mean we can't. I've defeated worse. We can defeat Topaz and Ruby…_ He paused and looked over at her. _Together._

 _Together._ She repeated, her confidence starting to come back after Barry's mental speech.

* * *

"We need to test your skills; make sure you have a handle on them. Make you stronger for your fight against Ruby Siren and Topaz, whenever it should happen," Cisco explained as he typed on his laptop.

"And what did you have in mind?" Kiera looked over at the young scientists. She was wearing her full Telegirl suit, which Cisco had cleaned and replaced several parts due to the burns. They were standing in the middle of the nearby airstrip later that day after Kiera rested.

Barry and Caitlin were waiting closer to the S.T.A.R. Lab's EZ-ups that stood a little ways behind them.

"First? You're flying speed," Cisco grinned.

"Shouldn't we be looking for Ruby and Topaz?"

"We are, but we both need to be ready when we find them. We need to train, get stronger, have our abilities under control," Barry answered and Kiera noticed he was wearing his red suit as he stood beside Caitlin, who was wearing a dark purple pencil skirt and a floral blouse.

Kiera nodded at Barry's answer and slid the thin silver headpiece onto her head. "Are you up for a race then?" she teased, realizing it would be more fun to find out fast she could go if it were a race between them.

Barry chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, but you'll lose, Telegirl," he teased and stepped forward to stand beside Telegirl as they readied themselves for a race.

Cisco grinned and walked with Caitlin to the tent, so they could monitor their vitals and speed.

"Whenever you're ready," Cisco said in their earpieces.

Kiera took a deep breath and tuned out everything except her own body. She willed it to float above the ground and a few seconds later her feet left the ground as she rose into the air. She stopped once she was about seven feet from the ground and nodded she was ready down at Barry, who watched the whole thing with a smile on his face.

He turned back towards the airstrip's long runway and pushed his feet into the ground to ready himself for the run. "Ready," he said to the scientists under the EZ-up. Yellow lightning sparked across his body as he stared at the airstrip before them.

"Alright, whoever makes it to the end and back the quickest wins!" Cisco said. "Three… Two… One… _Go_!"

At the word ' _go_ ', the two Meta-humans lunged forward. Flash disappeared into a streak of yellow and Telegirl flew forward, her feet parallel to the asphalt several feet below her.

Kiera saw Barry disappear ahead of her and her competitiveness made her burst forward to try to catch up. She focused on the end of the strip ahead of her, not wanting to look down at the asphalt maybe feet below her. Her hair, caught by the wind, flew back as she flew faster towards her goal. She had tuned out everything except making herself fly, so she didn't hear Cisco shouting in her ear.

"Kiera! You're going over a hundred miles per hour!"

Telegirl continued down the airstrip, trying desperately to catch up with Flash. She felt her heart thunder in chest as she flew down the airstrip; it threatened to burst through her ribs. She was a only three fourths of the way to the end of the airstrip when the yellow streak flashed by her in the opposite direction.

"Not cool!" she shouted over the strong wind and quickened her flying, making it to the end in under a minute. She turned herself around quickly and flew herself back down the airstrip.

Kiera concentrated on making her body fly, trying to propel herself forward as fast as could in an attempt to bet the Scarlet Speedster. Without realizing it, she held her breath as she flew the rest of the way down the airstrip. She saw the black EZ-up with the large 'S.T.A.R. Labs' logo become larger with every second.

Kiera blinked and the tent was gone. She turned around quickly, realizing she had passed it. She slowed herself and descended back to the ground in front of the tent.

"So?"

"Barry won," Caitlin said and chuckled as she watched him lean against the van as if he hadn't just ran at over seven hundred miles per hour.

Kiera stepped forward to go under the tent when the world suddenly started to spin. She closed her eyes tight as if to make it stop. She reached out a hand to grab the end of the table, but missed and started to fall.

She felt cool leather arms wrap around her and suddenly she was sitting down. Kiera opened her eyes slowly and realized she was sitting on one of the chairs under the tent. She looked up to see Barry standing before her, making sure she didn't fall or pass out.

"I'm okay. Just a little weak and dizzy," she answered their unspoken question as they just stared at her.

"You've never flown that fast, you're body isn't used to it yet," Caitlin concluded and brought her a bottle of water. "Rest and we can continue training later."

"You did fly _very_ fast! You're fastest speed was three hundred and forty eight miles per hour!" Cisco said with a big grin as he checked the data on the computer screen and then looked back at the group.

"Seriously?" Kiera's eyes widened. She thought about herself flying through the air and couldn't seem to picture herself going that fast. That was faster than a sports car could drive.

Barry grinned widely. "I think that deserves-" before he finished the sentence he disappeared. They blinked and he was back, but this time he was holding up a large stack of pizza boxes. "Pizza!" he finished as he set them on the nearby table.

"You just like doing that don't you?" Kiera laughed and teased Barry, which he answered with a huge grin. She slowly got up and with Barry's help she followed the others toward their dinner. "Fast food takes on a whole new meaning when you get it!"

The team hungrily ate their dinner and voiced ideas of how to locate Ruby and Topaz. They debated back and forth about which idea would work best and finally agreed neither had a hundred percent guarantee.

After resting, Kiera insisted she was feeling better and wanted to continue to train. She knew she needed to practice her abilities in order to have a better chance at beating Ruby Siren, so she pushed herself to continue.

"How about your control of Barry's body?" Caitlin asked.

"I could try again," Kiera nodded and glanced at Barry. He nodded and they walked out onto the airstrip.

Kiera stopped and took a deep breath, trying to get herself ready. Barry stopped several feet from her and looked over at her.

 _You can do it. Remember what Caitlin said. Think about me in harms way._

 _I'll try. Hopefully I don't pass out this time._ Kiera tried to give him a small smile, but it failed to show her as confident.

Kiera inhaled again and closed her eyes. "Ready?" she asked Barry and the team behind her.

"Ready," Barry answered.

"Everything's ready," Cisco said, checking his computer screen. "Whenever you're ready, Kiera."

Kiera nodded to show she heard them and kept her eyes closed as she focused on Barry in front of her. She imagined him moving a few feet forward and then focused on the memory of Barry about to be shot by that armored man in the abandoned office building in Star City. She imagined him paralyzed and about to be shot again. She concentrated hard on making him move out of the way, but his body didn't move. She clenched her jaw and tightened her fists she didn't know she formed as she dove deeper into the memory. The emotions washed over her like powerful ocean wave. She felt the anger and fear immobilize her own body and she started to shake, as the emotions grew stronger inside of her. This time she tried to control them, harness them. She focused all of her fear and anger on moving Barry several feet.

Suddenly Barry lunged off the ground and sped down the airstrip, away from the trembling Meta-human. His feet barely hit the asphalt as they pumped through the air, causing him to move forward at super speed. Barry couldn't help, but smile as he felt himself run; that is until he saw fast approaching building ahead of him.

His eyes widened. _Kiera! Slow me down! Quickly! Building coming up! Stop me!_ He shouted in Kiera's mind.

Kiera's eyes shot open and looked to her right, trying to see where he was, but he was too far away. She quickly closed them again and focused on seeing through his eyes.

At first all she saw was black, but then the bright world flashed before her eyes as he raced down the airstrip. She saw the large gray building growing in size before his eyes and she quickly focused on slowing him down. Her heart pounded in her chest, this time with real fear; fear of what was happening at that moment.

Barry's feet started to slow and his boots skidded across the asphalt as he flew towards the building and a few people walking outside. The whole team held their breath as Kiera concentrated on stopping him before he ran into anyone or the building.

A few seconds later, Flash skidded to a stop in front of the building, landing only a couple feet from the wall. Kiera let go of her concentration of Barry's body and let out the air trapped in her lungs as she doubled over in relief.

Barry sighed; relieved he wasn't a pancake stuck to the building's wall. He turned and saw several people staring at him, wondering what just happened.

"Everything's fine! Just training!" he shouted as he raised his arms to show them he was okay. "Had a piloting problem," he mumbled and sped back down the airstrip towards the team waiting anxiously.

"That was close," he muttered as he stopped before them.

"Sorry," Kiera winced and sat down in a chair nearby.

"At least it worked this time," Barry grinned and grabbed a water bottle.

"You're getting more control over it," Caitlin agreed and smiled also.

"I almost killed him!"

"But you didn't," Barry said and sat beside her.

"How do you feel?" Caitlin asked.

"Just dizzy and a bit weak, but no fainting like last time."

* * *

The next day, Barry and Kiera were taking a break by walking around S.T.A.R. Labs to get a better view of the fire damage, when Barry's phone rang in his pocket. Barry used his free hand- the one not holding Kiera's hand- to dig the phone out of his jeans pocket and answered it quickly.

A few seconds later, he ended the call and turned to Kiera. "Got a crime scene to examine. Uh, see you later?" he asked as he fumbled with his phone.

Kiera nodded and watched him, confused. "Is something wrong?"

"What? Oh, no, just got to work. See you after," he quickly said and then vanished in a streak of yellow.

Kiera watched him go, wondering why Barry was acting strange. She tried to tap into his mind for answers, but was interrupted by her own phone ringing.

She quickly pulled it out and saw it was the lab's phone number.

"Yeah?"

"We might have something on Ruby and Topaz," Cisco voice said through the phone.

"Coming!"

* * *

Barry's feet weren't the only thing racing as he sped through the city's streets, his mind was also. The phone call was from the Captain.

 _"Barry? Come to the station. ASAP! There's a situation. Dec Joe and several other officers are missing and we've got a crime scene and a ransom note,"_ The Captain had said, his voice didn't have the usual calm and collected tone; this time it was a more frantic and urgent.

What had happened to Joe? Had he and the others been ambushed and being held captive by a Meta-human with a vendetta? Or were they captured by Ruby Siren and Topaz? Would he be able to find them in time? Barry knew he couldn't lose another family member. He didn't know why he couldn't tell Kiera back at the lab, but he felt it was something he had to do alone. One of the people he loved was already in harm's way and he couldn't bring himself to involve another this time.

Barry arrived in an alley a few seconds later and stepped out, adjusting his sweater and shirt as he walked toward the Central City Precinct. What he saw took his breath away.

Barry stopped at the curb in front of the station and looked up at the chaotic scene spread out before him. Cops, investigators and fireman ran up and down the steps as they tried to get the scene under control. Above their heads, the building's front wall burned. The flames devoured the station's wall in a pattern; a pattern that formed letters. The letters formed a short, but clear sentence.

" **TELEGIRL AND FLASH FOR THE OFFICERS** ".


	24. Chapter 24

Barry stared up at the burning police station in disbelief for a couple minutes. He knew who wrote the fiery demand. It could only be two people- Ruby Siren and Topaz. He knew what they wanted and he knew if he chose to go ahead with this demand, he'd need a very good plan in order to make it out alive. Barry knew he couldn't do this alone after all; he needed his friends' help. But he needed to keep them safe as well as Joe, and that definitely wouldn't be easy.

 _Uh, Kiera? You're going to want to see this._ Barry mentally told Kiera.

 _See what?_ Kiera asked as she looked away from the computer to listen to him.

 _I can't really describe it. Just look._

Kiera realized what he was telling her to do. She stepped away from the Cortex's main computer desk and sat down in the nearest chair.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Caitlin asked as she looked up. Cisco heard the questions and looked up from his own computer.

"Barry wants me to see something through his eyes," Kiera explained and closed her eyes. She focused on tapping into Barry's sight instead of using her own. The florescent light coming in through her closed eyelids started to change. Everything turned to yellow, then orange and fuzzy forms started to appear. Some of the forms were moving and some weren't. Her vision cleared and Kiera suddenly saw the chaotic scene around Barry. She saw police and firemen rushing around him, trying to contain the situation and get the people inside the station to safety. Immediately Kiera focused on the fire being extinguished on the side of the police station. The burnt holes seemed to form specific forms.

And then Kiera realized what it was. It was a sentence. A demand.

"TELEGIRL AND FLASH FOR THE OFFICERS"

Air escaped Kiera's lungs and her chest expanded, trying to replace the oxygen with fresh oxygen, but nothing happened.

"Oh my…" words failed her for a moment as she saw the ransom note through Barry's eyes.

 _What officers?_ Kiera asked Barry mentally.

 _The Captain told me a few officers, including Joe, are missing. That's all I know._

"No, no, this can't be happening," Kiera managed as she felt every cell in her body freeze with fear.

 _They're asking the police to give us up for their men?_ Kiera replied as she tried to process the information.

 _Ruby and Topaz probably plan on killing us once they give us up._ Barry replied.

"What is it? What do you see?" Cisco asked in response to her reaction.

His voice brought Kiera back to the Cortex. She opened her eyes and looked up at the two anxious scientists standing before her.

"Ruby Siren and Topaz sent us a demand."

* * *

The Captain met with Barry shortly after he arrived on the fiery scene and explained what they knew so far.

"The station got a call from a terrified sounding woman. She claimed there were several armed men circling her house, so our men were dispatched. The last we heard they had just arrived and were going to check inside, then radio silence," the Captain informed him.

Barry quickly got to work, examining the crime scene and then the Captain sent him to the crime scene where the officers were ambushed while the fire was put out. An officer brought Barry to the second crime scene and as Barry stepped out of the police car, he looked around to take in the scene while he picked up his forensic kit.

Yellow crime scene tape held back a small crowd of neighbors framing the scene spread out around him. Several police cars were scattered haphazardly up and down a neighborhood street in the direction of one of the homes, most of the cars had their lights and sirens on, but three closest to the house didn't. Barry quickly realized they belonged to the abducted police officers.

The young CSI quickly walked toward the home's open front door after he noticed several police officers and investigators walking in and out. He shouldered his kit as he dodged officers who were too busy on their phones to notice him.

"Barry! You finally made it! We were about to call another CSI!" A nearby officer said from where he stood observing the crime scene.

"No, need, Detective Tancredi. I'm here now." Barry said with a laugh and crouched down at the first part of the labeled scene.

There wasn't much evidence marked inside the house, so he made quick work of analyzing it. The door had been forced open; Barry concluded an officer had done it, as there was a dirt shoe print on the door that matched a common brand worn by officers. Next he found bullets lodged in the house's inner walls, furniture and flooring. All of the bullets came from one place, the front door. The policemen were the only ones who fired off rounds. The officers' guns had been left abandoned on a nearby table and everything else looked to be in it's place and undisturbed.

After examining every inch of the house, Barry also found a couple long black hairs and one much shorter brown hair. He placed them in evidence bags and tucked them in his kit to examine later, even though he knew the answers. He just hoped the DNA would give them more insight into Topaz and Ruby.

He also found a high-tech looking thumb drive taped to the bottom of table were the guns were left. He glanced around at the other investigators and quickly slipped the device into an evidence bag before pocketing it in his jacket, knowing it was meant for his team and not the police.

* * *

Kiera paced back and forth in a line that would probably wear out the floor if she continued. She clenched and loosened her fists with every step, trying to contain her anger and fear. She knew being in the room wouldn't help Barry work any faster, but she needed to be there when the results came in. Barry's lab had luckily been untouched by the fiery message, allowing him to work while the other officers and local firemen worked on the building outside.

Kiera glanced up at the skylight above them, knowing this was the exact spot Barry was in when he became a Meta a couple years ago. She took a deep breath and focused on the clear blue sky, trying to let herself relax. After a few seconds of trying without success, she gave up and started pacing again.

"How much longer?" she asked as she looked over at Barry, who was bent over a piece of equipment, working on the evidence.

He glanced over at the computer screen on his desk. "A minute shorter than the last time you asked," he answered.

Kiera sighed and stopped pacing before making her way over to the table he was at and sitting in a nearby chair. "Sorry, it's just we basically know nothing about her and what if this hair is the puzzle piece we've been waiting for? What if we finally find out who she really is?" she whispered as she leaned toward him.

"Then it would be our lucky day, but I'm sure she thought of DNA also and erased all of that data too," Barry sighed and scribbled his findings on a piece of paper.

"We can still have hope," Kiera whispered back as she traced the outline of an unused piece of equipment.

"Always a good thing to have. What are we hoping for this time?" a deep voice asked.

The two young Meta-humans looked over at the lab's open doorway, startled.

"Captain Singh! Oh uh, we were, uh," Barry struggled.

"Hoping you find and capture whoever left the message outside," Kiera finished with a cool smile.

"You can guarantee it, Ms…?" the captain said, asking for her name.

"Kiera Taylor," Barry answered, introducing her. "She's my uh-" he glanced at her and Kiera reassured him with a smile. "-girlfriend."

* * *

Later that evening, Barry handed the thumb drive to Cisco and he examined it quickly before inserting it into his computer. The screen flashed white and then file after file appeared on the screen as they were downloaded onto the computer.

"Woah, I've never seen anything like this before. This data is…. scrambled. Nothing makes sense," Cisco explained as he watched the screen change every second.

"What does that mean?" Caitlin asked from where she sat next to him. Kiera, Iris and Barry hovered behind them, waiting for something- anything- that could help them.

"I have no idea. This could take days or even weeks to figure out!"

"We don't even have days. They're holding my dad and several other officers. Who knows what they're doing to them!" Iris said.

"I know. I'll try my best-" Cisco stopped and stared at something that flashed on the screen and stayed in the bottom right corner.

"What is that?" Barry asked.

"Looks like a live video file," Cisco muttered as he clicked on it.

The screen turned black for a few seconds and then an image appeared. Iris gasped as they saw her father being held securely by Topaz in a darkened room. Ruby Siren stood beside them wearing her usual smirk and a new black mask added to her red and black skintight suit. She had one hand on her hip and her legs apart as if she were about to have her picture taken and not send another threat.

"If you're watching this then the officer did what I told him to and hid the drive for you to find. And you did find it. Knew you would," Ruby smirked. "And I know you got my first message. It was my love's idea to do the burning part," she looked over at Topaz and they grinned at each other. Joe saw their exchange and tried to squirm against Topaz's muscular arms, but failed to get out of his grip. "Now," Ruby turned back to the camera. "I left you clues to find us. If you're as smart as S.T.A.R. Lab's claims to be, you'll figure it out. I just hope you do before the police decide to trade you for them." Ruby flicked her hand and the camera panned to the right to show the rest of the officers standing in a corner. They didn't seem to be tied up or imprisoned which made Kiera realize Ruby had already used her mind control on them. Her fists tightened against her thighs as she watched the officers' blank stares. But why hadn't she controlled Joe yet?

The camera turned back to the villains and Joe. Barry notices Joe's mouth moving, but doesn't hear his voice. He leaned forward, trying to see what he was trying to say.

"If you give yourselves up willingly, I will let them go, but if you resist," she paused and looked over at Joe. "There will be consequences."

Joe continued to mouth a message and Ruby noticed. She turned to him quickly. "Are you trying to communicate with them? I gave you chance to cooperate! There _will_ consequences now!" Ruby shouted and flicked her hand, ending the video stream before they could see what she was going to do to Joe.

"No!" Iris screamed and covered her mouth.

Barry moved to hug Iris. "She won't kill him. She knows she needs them alive," he whispered as he tried to comfort her.

"Promise?" she asked in a small voice as she looked up at him with watery eyes.

"I promise."

"Are you able to find where that video streamed from, Cisco?" Kiera asked as she turned her attention back to the screen.

"I just tried. She had it rerouted all over the world. There's no way to find out exactly where she is," he replied with a frown.

"Then I guess we need to get started on those files. She said they were clues," Caitlin suggested.

"Can you reply the video? We need to see what Joe was trying to tell us," Barry said as he held Iris close.

Cisco nodded and typed on the keyboard. A minute later, the video replayed and he zoomed in on Joe's face. The team watched his mouth closely, trying to figure out what he was trying to tell them.

"The first part looks like 'Has Meta dampening tech'," Caitlin said. "I learned how to read lips in college as a kind of game a couple friends and I would play," she explained after the team looked at her questionably.

"And the second? All I can make out is 'zero' and 'five'," Barry said as he squinted to try to see better as the video replied.

"It's a series of numbers. Zero Nine Three Five Two," Caitlin said and turned to the rest of the group. "Do you know what that means?"

Barry shook his head and inaudibly repeated the numbers as he tried to figure out what Joe was trying to tell them.

"Well I think I know what the first part means," Cisco said and stood up from his chair. "Follow me."

The team glanced at each other and then followed him down to the lab's garage. They stopped before a semi truck and Cisco opened the back. "Remember when we used this to transport the Meta prisoners?"

Everyone nodded, except Kiera.

"Right, sorry," Cisco realized. "A while back the Pipeline became-" he paused and glanced at Barry. "-unstable and so we used this to transport the Metas with the plan of having A.R.G.U.S. pick them up."

"It, uh, didn't work out," Caitlin added.

"It would have, if it hadn't of been for Captain Cold," Cisco muttered.

"They used their powers?" Kiera asked, getting quick flashes of memory from Barry's mind.

"I engineered a power dampening device that made it so they couldn't use them, but Cold sabotaged it," Cisco explained.

Kiera nodded, now understanding.

"Well that device is now… missing," Cisco said as he looked in the trailer.

"Missing? How?" Iris asked.

"Not sure. All I know is it's gone."

"Do you think they could have stolen it during the fire?" Kiera asked.

"Possible," Cisco nodded. "I did a little research on Topaz and found out he's a mechanical engineer as well. He'll easily figure out how to use it, if they really do have it."

"So Joe was trying to tell us they have it. They're planning on using it on us after they capture us," Barry stated as he realized their plan.

"Not good," Iris said with a frown.

* * *

After reluctantly getting a few hours of sleep to refresh themselves, the team returned to the lab early the next morning. Cisco and Barry worked on the file clues, Caitlin ran tests on samples Barry gave her and Kiera went back into the Cortez's side training room to get a little time to herself.

She took several deep breaths and focused on what they knew so far. Ruby and Topaz were part of a group of criminals called 'The Jewel Theives'. Ruby was a deadly assassin, hacker, and Meta-human who could control minds and move things with her mind. Topaz was thief and a fire controlling Meta-human, who never went back to prison after their second string of robberies, instead the two of them faked everything. Ruby and Topaz had been working together ever since Topaz was released from prison a year ago and had planned the whole thing; the kidnapping of Flash, having Ruby get captured so she could figure them out from the inside and then the escape with Topaz's help. Then they planned the trap for the police and now were demanding Flash and Telegirl for their release.

Out of desperation, Kiera tried to locate Ruby Siren again. She focused on Ruby, on where she was standing at the exact second. She kept trying and braced herself for the Brain Blast she knew would come. She quickly tried to hone in on the villains location before the attack came.

A piece of information came through. Kiera felt it; she felt it with every fiber of her being.

Ruby was close. She was still in Central City.

Just as Kiera processed the new information, she felt a wave of pain flood her mind.

Ruby had begun her attack.

Kiera gritted her teeth and focused on blocking the attack. She imagined a wall in her mind, one that Ruby couldn't get through. A minute later, the pain subsided and Kiera felt her mind clear.

Kiera smirked at her success. She learned something from Ruby before she could retaliate. It might not be a big clue, but it proved she was still in Central City.

 _You're getting better at that, Telegirl._ The smooth voice said in Kiera's mind, causing her smirk to vanish.

Kiera's breath caught in her throat and her stomach did somersaults.

 _How are you in my mind?_

 _You still doubt my abilities? How rude!_ The villain chuckled.

Kiera narrowed her eyes as the Ruby's voice spoke in her mind.

 _We will find you and we will put an end to this once and for all!_ Kiera threatened.

 _Oh, I'm counting on it. I admit I've missed my Flashie. Yes, Topaz is good looking, but nothing like_ _him_ _._

 _He's not yours!_

 _Aw, someone is possessive today!_ Ruby's smooth as silk voice echoed in Kiera's mind.

 _He's not mind either! He's his own person, not someone to use as a tool and through away when you're done!_ Kiera's mental voice grew louder as her anger bubbled up inside of her.

Ruby's laugh rumbled through Kiera, shaking her to her core. Kiera felt goose bumps dot her skin and the hairs on her body stand on end.

She decided to change the subject quickly.

" _You won't win, Ruby! You know that. That's why you ran! All your planning will be for nothing! We_ _will_ _find you and we_ _will_ _get those officers back! If you hurt them in anyway, I won't stop Flash from getting his revenge!_ Kiera threatened again, confidence suddenly rushing back to her.

Ruby's laugh echoed once more, but this time it didn't sound as assertive. _Then come and try!_

 _We will!_ After her own words finished echoing through her mind she felt a sort of vacancy left in her head and she realized Ruby Siren was gone.

Kiera let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and took another deep one. Her breathing was shaky and she realized her body was also. She shuttered as she remembered Ruby's voice in her mind. If Ruby could speak to her whenever she wanted to, what else could she do in Kiera's mind?

Kiera ran her shaking hand through her hair, trying to calm herself down. After a minute of deep breathing, she slowly stood and braced herself by holding the back of the chair before slowly making her way out of the training room. She stepped down the small ramp leading from the Cortex's lab room to the main room and looked over at the desk, expecting to find the team busy at work, but the desk was empty.

Hearing the noise of shuffling papers, Kiera turned her head to the left and saw Cisco and Barry looking through stacks of paper and occasionally taping one or two to the lab's clear writing board.

"Where's Caitlin and Iris?" she asked in a weak voice.

Barry looked up from the stack he was working on and saw Kiera tightly gripping onto the room's doorway.

"Iris had to get back to work, though I don't think she'll be able to focus," Barry frowned. "And Caitlin had to run an errand. She'll be back soon." He stepped toward her. "Hey, you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"In a way I just heard from one," Kiera said as Barry walked over and helped her to a chair.

The two men looked at her confused.

"Just talked to Ruby," Kiera explained and shook her head as if to make sure Ruby wasn't still inside her head.

"You did?" Barry's eyes widened. "What did she say?"

Cisco tapped the board's marker on his temple; silently asking her if their conversation was in her mind. Kiera nodded her answer.

"Basically just threats," she answered as she tried to get her body to stop shaking.

"Anything useful? Any clues?" Cisco asked.

"Besides the fact that she's infatuated with The Flash?" Kiera asked, managing a small laugh.

Barry rolled his eyes. "Great."

"I did learn that she's still in Central City."

"That makes sense," Cisco nodded and turned to the board. "We're working on the data she gave us, trying to decipher her clues."

"Anything?" Kiera asked.

"Not yet," Barry replied and sighed. "None of it makes any sense. They are just random numbers and words. We thought maybe the boxes separated some words and numbers for a reason, but it still doesn't make sense."

Kiera stood up and made her way to the board. Barry placed his hand on her back, in case he needed to keep her from falling. She scanned the taped pages and saw each piece of paper had a jumble of words, numbers and small boxes, just like Barry said.

Kiera frowned and ran her hand over one of the papers, her mind spinning as she tried to find a pattern in all of it. Her eyes darted back and forth as she glanced at each of the papers taped to the board. She pulled a few off and stacked them in her hand as she continued to scan. Kiera glanced down at the papers in her hand and suddenly something occurred to her.

"She knew we'd print them out," she muttered and turned to the guys. "Do you know the order they came in? The order they were downloaded onto the computer?" she asked Cisco. He nodded quickly and darted towards his computer. As he pulled up the files, Kiera motioned to Barry to help her take the papers off the board. After they were finished, they took the two stacks of papers to Cisco and they went through them, reorganizing them into their original order.

As they were finishing, Caitlin walked into the Cortex and placed her purse on the floor next to her part of the desk. "Any luck?" she asked as she sat down and spun her chair to face them.

"I think so," Kiera smiled as she placed the first two papers on the desk. Cisco and Barry's faces expressed they didn't know what she was up to. "Does anyone have a razor or knife and something to cut on?"

"I can get a scalpel and tray from our supplies," Caitlin said and jumped out of her chair to retrieve the items from the medical room.

A minute later, she returned and handed Kiera the scalpel. Kiera thanked her and pulled the clear protective cap off the end. Caitlin put the silver tray on the desk and Kiera placed the first piece of paper on top of it. The scientists moved to stand around her and leaned in to watch as she started to cut the paper.

Kiera carefully started to cut out the first rectangle box on the paper with the scalpel. Once finished she picked the paper up and placed it over the second paper. The new rectangle hole lined up perfect with a word on the second page, revealing the 'Golden'.

"Woah! Could it be that simple?" Cisco muttered. "All this time she wanted us to think it was going to be complicated, when it really was simple."

Kiera smirked as she stared at the papers before her. "Now we just need to figure out the rest of the message."

The team divided the rest of the papers up and got to work cutting out the rest of the rectangular boxes. Once they were finished, they placed each one on top of the other and Barry said the words out loud as Caitlin wrote them down.

Caitlin took the sticky note off her desk and repeated the complete message. "Golden Hills Gated 31909 Sky High Drive. If police accompany, one or more of the officers will die."

"A threat and an address? She actually gave us her address?" Cisco asked, stunned and typed it into Google Maps.

"This code system. She could put anything she wanted on it and it wouldn't make any sense unless you used the boxes to find the only words and numbers that meant anything. Simple, yet genius," Caitlin muttered as she looked at the papers.

"Got it!" Cisco exclaimed as a map appeared on his computer. "Looks like it's in Golden Hills Gated Community."  
"The first part of the message," Barry nodded.

"That's the problem. It's enclosed in walls and high security everywhere. It's not like you guys can do a Jedi Mind Trick on them, like Ruby."

"Easy, I can fly us over the wall, high enough where the cameras and guards won't see us," Kiera stated with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

Barry nodded. "Next?"

Cisco zoomed out on the map. "The house is here on a hill," he pointed.

"That's a lot of land around it. They picked a house basically out in the middle of no where," Caitlin said as they looked at the map.

"Perfect for a villain's lair," Cisco chuckled.

"They'll see us coming," Barry stated as he stared at the map. "Golden Hills is for the richest of the rich. I've heard every house has high tech security cameras, motion detectors, body heat sensors, silent alarms, etcetera, etcetera. Plus guards, whom I'm sure Ruby controls by now."

"We'll figure out a way. We always do," Caitlin said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Kiera sighed. "I sure hope so."

The team brainstormed for several hours, trying to figure out how to sneak into the mansion and find the officers without any problems, but none of their ideas got them safely to the house without being noticed.

Kiera stood in front of the desk and studied the large screens on the walls that displayed a map of the land, photos of the mansion and descriptions of the most likely security systems the house would have, and Cisco and Barry sat behind the desk with their feet propped up on the desk's edge while Caitlin was out getting them lunch and their third round of Jitter's coffee.

"What if we tried-" Cisco started to say.

"It won't work. They'll see us," Kiera interrupted.

"What? You didn't even know what I was going to say!" Cisco said, confused.

Kiera turned to him. "Yeah I did. Mind reader, remember?" she tapped her temple.

"Dude! Not cool! Those are my thoughts. My private thoughts!"

"Sorry, Cisco, I'm still getting used to the whole I-can-read-your-mind-thing. Sometimes I just hear people's thoughts without realizing that they were thinking them and didn't say it out loud. I'm trying to control it," she frowned. "But your plan still wouldn't work. I can't control minds like Ruby, so even if we did fly over the property's wall and landed at a side door, they'd still see us on the security cameras and come for us."

Cisco frowned, having forgotten about the fact that the house would most likely have outdoor cameras also.

"Who's hungry?" Caitlin asked, announcing her presence as she walked through the Cortex's doorway, holding up a plastic bag containing their lunch.

"Starving!" Cisco shouted and jumped up to get his food.

"Same!" Barry chuckled and stood up.

The team ate quickly and went over the information they knew so far.

"What are the numbers that Joe tried to tell us?" Barry asked as he watched the video again.

"It looks like a zip code, but it's not the mansion's zip code," Caitlin said out loud and took a bite of her taco.

"Zero Nine Three Five Two," Cisco repeated the sequence of numbers that were written on a sticky note. "It doesn't sound familiar."

"Maybe it's some kind of code? Like a police file or communication code?" Kiera questioned.

Cisco put down his burrito and pulled up the police database. He typed in the numbers and shook his head. "That case number is just for a drug violation by two teens. And the order of numbers couldn't be a police code."

"Maybe it's a different kind of code. Maybe's it's a code for one of the locks on the mansion's property? Joe might have seen one of them enter it and told us so we could get in," Barry thought out loud.

"Could very well be!" Cisco nodded in agreement. "But what lock? I'm sure they have at least a dozen locks on that property."

Kiera frowned and looked up at the screens that displayed the map and pictures.

"Maybe the front gate?" Kiera suggested. "They probably went in that way."

Barry shook his head. "It has to be somewhere he thought would be a good place to enter unseen. The back gate?"

The group ate quietly as they thought about what the numbers could mean and if it was a code where it could be entered into.

After lunch they went back to work, trying to figure out a plan and which door or gate the set of numbers might open. Cisco also looked over the coded papers to see if there was any other message hidden in them.

"What if you two fly onto the mansion's roof? Their cameras probably wouldn't be tilted up that high. You could fly up a hundred feet or so and then fly down onto it. They'll be too focused on the ground and entrances to be looking up at the roof," Cisco suggested a little while later.

They nodded in response and Barry added, "Yes, and maybe Joe thought of us doing something like that so if that is a security code, it could be for one of the mansion's outer doors. Probably a back or side door?"

Kiera took a deep breath. "It could work. But if we try that and it doesn't work?"

"I can speed us out of there and we'll think of something else. Besides, seeing the place up close will be beneficial. We'll get to see what security they actually have, instead of just guessing." Barry said.

"Once you're inside, Kiera, you could try to locate Joe with your mind," Caitlin suggested and Kiera nodded at the idea.

"Then it's settled," Barry said as he stood up and put his trash in the trash can.

"Wait what about the tech they stole? If they use that on you guys, you won't have your powers," Cisco said.

"You could fly a drone in with us and once we reach that tech you could disable it wirelessly," Barry replied.

"It could work," Cisco nodded and stood up also. "I'll rig the drone," he said and walked out of the Cortex and down to his lab.

"Let's get ready," Barry said.

Kiera stood up slowly and tightened her hands into fists to try to prevent them from shaking. She was terrified of this plan not working. She knew if they made one wrong move, Ruby and Topaz would be able to capture them or even kill them. She knew they needed to save Joe and the other officers, but she wasn't completely positive this plan would work. Ruby was smart, she had probably thought about them flying in; Kiera was the one that basically taught her how to fly herself.

Barry felt the nervousness and reached out to her mentally. _Kiera, don't worry. This plan will work. We can do this._ He stepped forward and gently pulled her towards him, holding her against his warm body. _We can do this together._

 _I know, I just have a bad feeling something's going to go wrong._

 _If something does go wrong, we have each other and Cisco and Caitlin to help us figure a way out. We won't let Ruby and Topaz win._ Barry encouraged and gently kissed her forehead as she rested her head on his shoulder. She tilted her head and leaned up to kiss him.

Barry grinned and kissed back. "Time to go," he said as he pulled back from the kiss after a few seconds, trying to focus on what they needed to do. "We need to get the officers before Ruby grows impatient and decides to take it out on them." He frowned as he thought of how the live video ended.

Kiera nodded her head and pulled herself together. She sprinted to the mannequin wearing her suit and quickly got it off before ducking into the medical room to change.

Barry changed into his suit in streak of yellow and went down to help Cisco has he waited.

A couple minutes later, Kiera stepped into the main room as she placed the monitoring circlet on her head and secured the mask on her face. She took a deep breath to try and keep herself calm, but her hands continued to shake.

Caitlin walked up with a small blood bag. "Just in case?" she offered.

Kiera nodded. If they did run into some problems, Barry's blood in her system would help any injuries she got heal faster. "Just in case," she repeated and followed the young doctor back into the small medical room.

A few minutes later, the two women walked back out and were met by Barry and Cisco. Cisco was holding the rigged drone and it's remote control in his hands and Barry was pulling his mask on over his head.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ye- Wait," Kiera stopped and hurried to the desk covered in the coded papers and sticky notes. She searched through the sticky notes, trying to find a specific one. She finally found it and pulled off her right glove. Kiera took a pen and quickly scribbled the numbers Joe mouthed to them in the video onto the back of her hand. "Just in case," she explained and slipped her glove back on. "Now I'm ready. As ready as can be, that is."

Barry nodded and Cisco handed him the drone before Flash took Telegirl and sped them out of the lab.

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE: The device Joe mentions and Cisco finds out is missing is the power-dampening device used in the episode "Rogue Air".**

 **Also this chapter was heavily influenced by the amazing show, Prison Break (which features Wentworth Miller AKA Captain Cold and Dominic Purcell AKA Heat Wave, along with Clock King and Vertigo, etc). I just finished catching up on the show, so I thought I'd pay tribute to it in this chapter. The way the files are coded is similar to one used in the show, and the code number '09352' is part of one of the tattoos in the show.**

 **The next chapter may take a while, as I'm planning to have a lot happen in it (and the chapter after that), but it's going to be a lot of fun for me to write, so I'll try to get it up as fast as I can.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. (: As always, I'd love to hear what you thought. So please review your thoughts, questions, input, etc. Thank you!**


	25. Chapter 25

Flash stopped about half a mile from Golden Hills Gated Community and gently set Telegirl on the ground beside him. They were standing on a road that wound around a hill to the right of the community's border. Kiera quickly got her bearings and looked down at the land spread out below them. The main gate was far to their right and an eight-foot wall ran the perimeter of the forested lands inside. Trees sheltered most of the homes and roads, giving even more privacy to the large plots of land owned by the wealthiest people in Central City.

"Ready to do this?" Barry whispered as he stared down at the gated community also.

Kiera glanced over at him and took a deep breath. She nodded quickly, not giving herself another minute to think over their risky plan.

"We're going in," he told the team back at S.T.A.R. Labs. Iris had joined them, after Caitlin texted to tell her what was going on; she didn't want to miss her father's rescue. "Cisco, we'll let the drone go once we're at the house," he added as he carefully repositioned the drone under his arm.

Kiera closed her eyes and focused on making their bodies fly above the deserted windy road. A few seconds later, their boots lifted off the ground and they began to fly over the land below them. Barry kept a watchful eye on the ornate guardhouse at the front gate as Kiera focused on keeping them high above the wall to avoid being detected as they flew over. Once they flew over the wall, Kiera made them descend behind a large truck parked along one of the empty roads.

"We're in. Now heading to the mansion," Barry whispered to update the rest of the team. Kiera signaled him to tell him she was ready, and he grabbed onto Telegirl before speeding down the streets. Flash easily maneuvered through the community's roads, having studied a map of the place beforehand to make sure he knew every way out, in case something went wrong.

A couple seconds later, they stopped and Kiera looked around again. They were standing under a patch of trees that shaded a bench on the other side of the street from the mansion's property.

"I'll have to fly us pretty fast, in case the guards see us," Kiera whispered as she studied what they could see of the property. There was a similar small guardhouse beside the property's elaborate front gate and she noticed security cameras scattered on top of the tall brick wall surrounding the property.

"I'm okay with speed," Barry chuckled softly. "We could fly over that patch of trees, then they won't be able to see us from below," he added and pointed to a grove of trees that they could see through the iron gate.

Kiera nodded and looked over at him. _Ready?_

 _We'll be fine, I promise._ He replied to her, mentally as he gave her a reassuring smile. She took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. Seeing and feeling her nervousness, Barry leaned closer to her and gently tilted her chin up before kissing her softly. _I promise._ He repeated as he pulled back. _And after all of this is done, I'll take you out to dinner to celebrate!_

Feeling his confidence, she couldn't help, but smile back. _I'll hold you to that!_

 _I know you will._ He chuckled.

"Are we going to do this or not?" Cisco asked after hearing radio silence for far too long. "Wait were you guys caught already?"

"What?" Barry asked, his friend's voice snapping him back down to Earth. "Oh, right. No, we're fine. We're going over the property now," he said as he moved back a little.

Kiera laughed quietly and closed her eyes to focus on making them fly again. She peeked over at Barry and saw his cheeks were pink, but he was trying to hide it by looking around for any danger. Kiera smiled to herself and turned her head back before closing her eyes again to focus.

They started to rise through the shade tree and stopped once they were above its highest branches. Kiera opened her eyes and looked at the grove of trees that would serve as their cover and then over at the mansion. The house was spread out on top of a slight hill that was covered in bright green grass, gardens and trimmed trees. The mansion itself looked modern, yet classic with its boxy architecture, large archways and pillars around the front door, large rectangular windows and pyramid shaped roofs. The property around it was spread out like a blanket and dotted with smaller buildings, tennis and basketball courts, gardens, a large pool behind, and walkways connecting everything back to the house.

"This mansion is even bigger than the first one Ruby hid in! I think its safe to say she has an obsession!" Barry whispered and chuckled.

Kiera shook her head and laughed a little before focusing on their path again. She willed them to fly forward and their bodies started to soar towards the group of trees at a quick speed. After only a half a minute they started to descend onto the mansion's roof.

Barry let out a breath once their feet touched the roof. "We've landed," he whispered to the team.

They glanced around at the property, on full alert in case guards or cameras spotted them.

"Which door should we try first?" Kiera whispered.

"Maybe the garage door? Or maybe the side door on the north side?" Cisco offered.

"Garag-" Before Barry could finish Kiera saw a guard walk out onto the mansion's patio and start to walk beside the large pool. His back was to them, but she could still see the outline of a gun in his hand. She grabbed onto Barry's arm and yanked him down as she quickly, but quietly fell down onto the roof. They landed on their stomachs as they hid from view on the other side of the tilted roof. They held their breath as they waited for the guard to walk back inside.

After a minute, Barry slowly raised his head to look over the roof and see if the guard was gone. He peeked down and Kiera looked over at him, anxiously waiting to hear if the coast was clear.

"Is he still there?" she whispered.

Barry glanced over at her and shook his head before slowly standing back up. "I think he went back inside," he whispered and helped Kiera up.

"If he's on patrol, we probably don't have much time before we comes back," she whispered. "We need to get inside quickly."

"Let's try the garage door first," he whispered and Kiera nodded. She quickly focused on making them fly to the other end of the mansion's roof.

Just as they landed, a high-pitched noise rang out and then a small explosion sounded close to Flash's feet. They looked over quickly and saw a small black scorch mark on the roof only a couple feet from Flash's feet. Telegirl and Flash whipped around quickly and saw a drone hovering in the sky in front of them. A red light flashed from it and quickly started to travel towards them. Flash reacted quickly and pulled Telegirl behind one of the mansion's chimneys.

"She has a drone that shoots lasers? Seriously?" he muttered under his breath as they pressed themselves against the brick chimney.

"I guess they know we're here. I had a feeling Ruby would guess we were going to land on the roof," Kiera sighed and quickly moved to look for the drone.

"Cisco, our drone has laser guns too, right?" Barry asked Cisco as he looked down at the lab's drone he was still holding.

"Yeah, hold on," Cisco said and a series of keyboard clicks was heard over the coms.

While they were working on their drone, Telegirl stepped out from behind the chimney to try and spot the drone.

Kiera heard a buzzing noise as the black drone flew up the side of the mansion to her right and opened fire. Telegirl felt a sharp sting spread over the middle of her upper arm. She gasped; realizing one of the laser shots had hit her. She quickly turned toward the drone and pulled out her shield, making it open and float in front of her to defect the incoming round of fire. She flicked her hand and the shield flew forward, smashing into the drone, causing it to fall onto the slanted roof before sliding down and smashing into little pieces on the stone walkway below.

Telegirl heard another buzz behind her and quickly turned around, making her shield fly back to defend herself. Another drone hovered before her, but was suspiciously still. Before she could command her shield to fly at it, she heard a voice in her ear.

"No! Don't! It's our drone!" Cisco shouted in her ear.

"Right, sorry," Kiera muttered and closed her shield as it flew back to her.

"We have to hurry and get inside before we get any more surprises," Barry said from where he stood next to the chimney.

Kiera nodded and returned her focus to making them fly down toward the garage. They floated up above the roof and then Kiera had them quickly fly down the side of the house. They landed in front of the garage's side door and Kiera took a step toward it as she reached for the security panel above the door's handle.

"We're at the garage door. What's the code?" Barry whispered as he turned his back to Kiera and kept a look out for any more drones or armed guards. Kiera was about to remind him she had the code on her hand as she took off her glove to type it into the touch screen security panel, but he asked for it before she could.

"Zero Nine Three Five Two," Caitlin answered.

Kiera quickly entered the numbers and the numbers changed from blue to red. A warning sign that said, "Alert! Invalid Code!" flashed above the numbers and an alarm sounded from inside the garage.

Kiera quickly turned to Barry, her eyes wide. "Guess that wasn't the right door," she muttered.

The sound of running footsteps echoed around the house and Flash whipped around to look in their direction. "Let's try the other door!" he whispered and grabbed Telegirl before he sped around the house to the side door on the other side. He put her down in front of the door and quickly turned to keep guard again.

Kiera hurriedly put the code in the identical security panel above the door's handle. This time the numbers changed from blue to green and they heard a click. Telegirl smiled and pulled the door open. They stepped in and Flash closed the door behind them as she slipped her glove back on.

"We're in," Barry whispered as they looked around. They were standing in a medium sized room that looked like a kitchen, except there was a washer and dryer below built in cabinets where other kitchen appliances would be.

"Ready to start the drone?" Barry whispered after quickly glancing around the room.

"Set it down on the floor," Cisco answered. Barry leaned down and placed the drone before his feet. It quickly came to life and floated up into the air. "I'm reading heat signatures-"

Before Cisco could finish a ball of electricity flew at them, sending the two Meta-humans flying backwards and slamming into the door they had just came through. The surge of electricity danced across their bodies and the drone before diminishing.

"What was that?" Telegirl groaned as pulled herself up onto her feet with the help from a nearby counter. Pain spread through her body, making it feel like her skin was on fire for a minute before slowly diminishing also.

Flash also groaned as he slowly got up. "Not sure. Cisco?"

Their earpieces were silent.

"Cisco?" Barry whispered again as he touched the lightning bolt on the side of his head that served as his earpiece. He glanced at Kiera, who stared back at him confused.

"The electricity must have fried them. They knew were going to come in this way. Ruby must have made Joe tell her what he told us," he muttered and looked over at where the drone was floating a minute before. It was now lying motionless on the floor.

"Great, no back up," Kiera mumbled. "We need to find the officers and get out of here!"

Barry nodded and as they stepped toward the laundry room's other door, it sprang open, revealing two armed guards. One of the guards smirked and closed the door behind them.

Flash disappeared in a streak of yellow toward them and then back at Telegirl. He ran past her and out the door they came in.

A second later, he was standing next to Telegirl again with a small smile on his face.

"What did you do to them?" Kiera whispered as she looked over at him.

"They're a little…" Barry paused as if to try and think of the word. "-tied up at the moment. "

Kiera laughed and walked toward the door the men had came in through. Barry followed and quietly grabbed the doorknob, turning it slowly. He quietly opened the door and peeked out. He motioned to Telegirl, indicating the coast was clear before opening the door the rest of the way and stepping out into a long hallway.

The two Meta-humans quietly jogged down the hallway, glancing up and down the hallway as they went. Flash opened the door at the other end of the hallway and peeked inside, before opening it and stepping into the empty room. On their right were floor to ceiling windows that looked out into the mansion's backyard.

As Kiera was studying the land from the window, a bright white light flooded the room. She heard Barry gasp in front of her as he tried to shield his eyes with his arms. His body shielding her from the light in front of him, Kiera noticed the floor beneath his feet started to crack and crumble.

"No!" she shouted and quickly focused on making him float above the crumbling floor. She heard the crackling grow louder and looked down to see the cracks were racing toward her own feet. She focused on her own body as well and they both started to float up above the disintegrating floor.

"What's going on? I can't see!" Flash shouted as he blinked several times.

"Hold on," Kiera managed as she struggled to keep them above the collapsed floor and also search for the source of the bright light with her mind.

Finally finding something large and round, she flicked her hand and the device broke into two, causing the light to go out.

Barry blinked several more times, trying to get his sight back and Kiera looked down at trap below them. Barry's body quickly healed his temporary blindness and he saw Kiera looking down, so he followed her gaze. A few feet below their dangling feet was a large open container that Kiera guessed was once an indoor hot tub, but it wasn't filled with water, instead the still liquid looked dark and shiny.

"What is that?" Barry mumbled in disbelief.

"I don't think we want to find out," Kiera responded. Her pounding head reminded her that she was still holding them up in the air, so she quickly returned her attention making them fly towards a door on the other side of the room.

 _I guess they really were expecting us._ Barry said mentally as he glanced back at the trap they almost fell into. _She's really does have a flair for the dramatic._

Kiera laughed and nodded as she made them stop before the closed door. She flicked her hand and the door swung open, allowing her to fly them through and land on solid ground on the other side.

They looked around, expecting to see some armed guards or even Ruby and Topaz themselves, but the hallway was eerily quiet.

 _Where do we go next?_ Barry mentally asked.

Kiera remembered what Caitlin had suggested before they left. _I'll try to locate Joe with my mind. Keep a look out?_ She glanced at him and he nodded in response.

Telegirl closed her eyes and focused on picturing the detective with her mind. She tried focusing on where he was at that second. After several tries she finally got her answer.

 _That way!_ She pointed down the hall on their left. She remembered the trap behind them and looked over at Barry. _Should we fly to avoid any other trap doors?_

 _Good idea. Who knows what other traps she has set up. Hopefully nothing worse than a trap door containing mysterious liquid…_

Telegirl turned to him and took his hand as she focused on making them float above the hallway's stone floor. She then focused on flying them down the hallway quickly and quietly.

They stopped once the hallway opened up into an open room between two hallways and looked around.

 _Coast is clear. Where next?_ Barry asked.

 _This-_ Before Kiera could answer him, the sound of crackling electricity echoed through the open room and hallways. _What was that?_

As if to answer her, something large and heavy fell onto them, sending them slamming into the hard stone floor. Kiera saw a flash of white and then gasped as she felt hot pain spread over her back and around her body. The burning feeling seemed to tingle like thousands of tiny burning needles were poking her skin. She tried to move, but she felt herself trapped under something that felt like a heavy blanket. The sound of electricity crackled by her ear and made her open her eyes. She didn't even realize she had closed them when the pain took over.

Telegirl looked up as she tried to squirm, but that only caused another tingling burn to shoot up her leg. She saw a dark grid before her eyes and realized she was under some kind of giant net.

 _Barry? Barry?!_ Her mind screamed as she looked through the square holes in the net for any sign of him.

She heard a low moan and looked down for the source. Laying beside her in the darkness was Barry. Kiera tried to move to see if he was okay, but another burning spike of pain shot up her arm, accompanied by another crackle of electricity.

 _Are you okay? Can you move?_

"Kiera?" he mumbled almost inaudibly as he slowly moved his tangled hand toward his head.

"Shhhh," she whispered. _Come on. You need to get up. We need to get out of here!_

Kiera quickly pulled his arm away from his head before another shot of electricity jolted both of them.

The jolt caused Barry to sit up quickly, the net clinging to his head as he moved. He turned his head toward Kiera and looked through the holes at her, his eyes wide.

 _What happened? Are we under a net?_ He asked as he looked down at the net around him. He quickly wrapped his fingers around a section and tried to pull it off as he moved.

 _Don't!_ Kiera's mind screamed, but before he could pull away, electricity coated the net and crackled up his arm, causing him to quickly let go and scream in pain.

 _Barry!_ Kiera's mind screamed again and she instinctively moved toward him, tangling herself in the net. She gritted her teeth and continued to move, trying to find him under the dark net. Electricity crackled, threatening to electrocute her if she continued. She felt him move towards her and she reached out a tangled hand toward him. Electricity flickered and spread over the net, finding them quickly. Kiera let out a scream as it spread over her suit, causing sharp burning pain to travel across her body.

"Oh, look what we've caught, my love! Two squirming fish!" a honeyed voice said in the distance. The voice made Kiera freeze in place as it sent shivers of ice down her back, making the other burning pain numb.

"Ruby," she spit out as if her name was poison on her tongue and she turned her head in the voice's direction.

Through one of the net's holes, she saw Ruby Siren and Topaz standing about ten feet from them. The smirks twisted their faces into an unnerving way and their body language showed they were obviously enjoying the show.

Telegirl reached out a hand toward them, gritting her teeth as she tried to ignore the net's attacks. Before she could use her powers, Ruby flicked her wrist and Kiera felt lightheaded before everything went black.

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE: Sorry this chapter is shorter than my usual ones, but I thought I'd split up what I had planned into two chapters and give you this short chapter** **instead of making you wait for me to finish a much longer one. I hope you enjoy! The next one is going to probably take a lot longer, as I have a lot planned, so I apologize ahead of time. I will try to write it as fast as I can.**

 **Answering readers' questions:**

 **Marie asked if I will show more of Kiera controlling Barry's body in times of emergency.  
I'm not sure yet. I'm currently thinking about where it would fit into a recent chapter, but I will try to fit at least one scene of it happening in an upcoming chapter. (: I didn't think you guys would like that idea all that much, so I'm pleasantly surprised! I am trying to add more of Kiera and Ruby flying, because you guys wanted more of that too. **

**And as always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please include them in your review or send me a PM. I love to hear your feedback. Thanks! (:**


	26. Chapter 26

*****WARNING: This chapter (and the next) will be intense. It contains forms of torture (nothing gory). So proceed at your own risk.*****

* * *

Pain woke Kiera up. Burning pain that spread through every inch of her body and tingling pain that spread across her skin where the electricity had surged into her. Kiera heard herself groan as she started to process all of the abuse it had been through. Her mind felt foggy and jumbled like it had just been in the blender that had been set on 'liquefy'.

Kiera realized she was lying on her back on something hard and cold. Her legs were tucked under her and she tried to move them, but everything seemed sluggish. She opened her eyes slowly and bit her lip to keep herself from screaming in pain as her eyes struggled to adjust to a bright light glaring down at her. Kiera pulled her arm up to block the blue light above, gritting her teeth as moving her arm caused another wave of tingling to shoot up her arm and spread over her head. She blinked several times and blurred shapes started to come into focus. She turned over slowly, trying to ignore the complaints her body made, and saw that she was lying on a reflective metal floor. She pushed her messy blonde hair out of her face and looked down at her reflection. Kiera saw she was still wearing her suit and mask, but instead of the thin silver circlet on her head, she was wearing a metal headpiece with several small glowing blue lights, making it look like something straight out of a Science Fiction movie.

Kiera raised her hands and touched the sides of the device, running her fingers over the thin strips of metal that wove around her head, making it look futuristic. Adrenaline spiked inside her body as her mind finally processed what she was seeing and she quickly tried to pull the headpiece off her head. Fear took over as she struggled to loosen it. Her heartbeat quickened as she wondered what this device was doing something to her mind.

She instinctively flicked her hand as she focused on imagining the device breaking apart, but she felt no change. Kiera looked at the mirror-like floor below her to see if the headpiece moved, but it was still in place.

After a couple minutes of trying to use her Telekinesis, as well as pulling and pushing on the headpiece, the only thing she accomplished was making her arms weak and even more painful. The device on her head was too tight and somehow secured onto her head. Kiera cried out in anger and frustration and moved to push herself up off the floor. She sat up slowly and looked around. Four glass walls surrounded her, creating a small rectangle cell with a five-foot square base. She looked up and saw the cell went up at least seven feet. Above the cell was a metal device that also glowed, illuminating the whole cell in blue light.

Kiera looked around and something clicked inside her brain. She suddenly realizing she was trapped in a small box, alone. She wondered if this cell was what Cisco saw in his vision and if so, that would mean she was being held by Ruby and Topaz. She then remembered what had happened before she found herself in this cell. An electrified net had trapped her and Barry and they saw Ruby and Topaz standing over them before everything went black. Her mind immediately turned to Barry. If she was in this cell, he must be in one also, unless Ruby had done something to him, unless she had brainwashed him again.

 _Barry? Barry! Where are you?_ Kiera screamed in her mind as she focused on the world outside of her glass prison. Everything was dark, making it impossible to know where she was or if anyone else was nearby. Kiera searched for windows or any other light source, but couldn't find any; making her think she might be in a basement or something where underground.

She raised her hands, palms parallel with the glass walls on either side of her and focused on making them shatter, but nothing happened. She tried again over and over again, but nothing happened. Kiera frowned and looked around the cell again for any way out.

She turned to her right as she frantically searched the shadows. Once she turned all the way around she saw an identical cell a few feet from her own cell and curled up against the side closest to her was a red form.

Kiera felt her heart leave her throat as she pressed her hands on the glass, trying to get a better look at Barry. Relief flooded over her, momentarily numbing all of the pain in her body. He was safe. Barry wasn't under her control. But he was in a cell like she was meaning they were both trapped.

 _Barry? Barry! Can you hear me?_ Her eyes searched every inch of his back and legs for movement, but he remained still. _Barry! Wake up!_ Panic took over again and her hands formed fists before slamming into the glass wall. She repeated the action over and over again as she continued to scream at Barry with her mind. Her hands and arms quickly revolted and new pain shoot up her arms, as they turned bright red and sore under her gloves. Kiera sighed, slumping back against the glass wall beside her and positioning herself so she was also leaning against the wall that showed her Barry. She pressed her palm against the clear barrier, as if to tell Barry she was there for him whenever he woke. She wasn't going to lose sight of him again. She wasn't going to let Ruby take him from her again.

Kiera's head became heavy and her eyes closed as fatigue washed over her. The low hum coming from the electrical device above her turned into a lullaby and she drifted off to sleep.

 _Kiera? Kiera!_ Her name repeated in her mind over and over again. Suddenly her mind registered it wasn't a dream and she jolted awake. The sudden movement made her body scream out in pain. Kiera winced and leaned back against the cool glass.

 _Kiera? Are you awake?_ The voice asked again in her mind and she turned her head to look at Barry's cell.

Her stomach did a somersault as she looked over at Barry, who was now awake and sitting up in his cell, pressing his hands against the glass wall that faced her. He smiled a little when he saw she was awake. For a minute, the smile made her forget about everything else. It made her forget about Ruby and Topaz. It made her forget about the kidnapped officers. It made her forget about the pain. It made her forget the fact that her and Barry were locked up in glass cells like science experiments, complete with the matching metal torture helmets.

 _Are you okay?_ She asked him mentally.

 _I think so. Everything hurts, but I don't think anything's broken._ He looked down at his body, still in his Flash suit, to check himself over before looking back over at her. _You?_

 _Same._ She nodded. _Do you know what these are?_ She pointed to the headpiece on her head.

Barry sighed and touched his own. _I'm guessing a modified version of the power-dampening tech they stole from our lab, same with those._ He pointed up at the device above their cells that lit them in a blue glow.

Kiera looked up at the ceiling of her cell and flicked her hand in an attempt to move it again with her mind.

 _It's not going to work. I've already tried phasing through the glass, and using my speed and lightning, but nothing happens._ Barry sighed and lifted his hand as he tried to make it vibrate, but his hand didn't move. He frowned and turned his hand into a first before angrily punching the glass with all of his strength. The glass didn't break; instead it made pain run up his arm.

 _Then how are we communicating?_ Kiera asked, realizing they were still communicating mentally.

Barry thought for a moment and looked up at her. _Maybe at first the connection formed because of your powers, but now that it's gotten stronger and deeper, it's surpassed just your Telepathic power and is more of a bond?_

Kiera smiled a little. _Whatever the reason, I'm glad it still works._

Barry returned the smile and then it faded as they glanced around the dark room.

 _How do we get out of here then if we don't have our powers?_ Kiera asked after few minutes of silence.

 _We'll figure out something. We'll get out of here, I promise._ He replied, mentally as he turned back to her. _The good thing is, they haven't taken off our masks yet, so they don't know who we are._

 _But why haven't they? They could've while we were unconscious._ Kiera frowned and tried to think of a reason, but her mind was still foggy and trying to think clearly took too much effort for her pounding head.

Barry shrugged his shoulders and tried to shift into a more comfortable position, wincing as his body complained.

 _You still owe me that dinner after we get out of this._

Barry laughed, her comment distracting him from their situation. _And I plan on keeping that promise!_

They smiled weakly at each other. Barry slowly raised his hand, placing his palm against the cool glass in front of him and Kiera mirrored his movement, placing her hand parallel with his. Their hands were only separated by two panels of glass and two feet of empty space, but to them it felt like miles. Even though they did not say a word, even mentally, they knew what each other was thinking and feeling. Their eyes spoke for them, expressing their fear and pain, but also their hope.

"Ah good, you two are finally awake," came a honeyed voice that instantly sent chills down their spines. They lowered their hands quickly and turned their heads to look for the source ahead of them.

A light flickered on and they saw Ruby and Topaz standing several feet away, their smirks making them look like predators that had just caught prey. They were donning their usual black and theme colored suits and boots, but this time they weren't wearing their masks.

"Where are the officers? You promised you'd let them go if we came!" Flash shouted as he leaned against the glass.

"They're fine," Topaz muttered.

"Then let us see them and then let them go! You promised us you'd let them go if we showed up! We're here, so let them leave!" Barry shouted and slammed his palm against the glass wall. "Unharmed!"

Ruby sighed as if bored with this conversation. "Fine. They were only a means to an end anyways." They walked toward a door and stepped out before locking it behind them.

Once they were gone, Kiera looked over at Barry. Even though his mask covered most of his face, she could tell he was worried and afraid of what would happen next. He was afraid of innocent people getting hurt because of him and he was especially worried about Joe.

 _We'll get out of here, Barry. I promise._ She told him, repeating his own words back to him. Barry looked up at her and nodded; though his eyes showed he wasn't so confident now.

 _We'll get through this._ Kiera paused and looked down at her hands for a couple minutes. _This probably isn't the right place for the first time, but who knows if I'll get to say it again._ She looked at him and slowly raised her hand, pressing her palm against the glass. _I love you, Barry._

Barry looked at her from where he sat in his cell. His eyes softened and he placed his hand against the glass. _And I love you_.

They looked in each other's eyes as they sat there in silence. No words needed to be exchanged. They longed to reach out and hold each other, to kiss, to touch, anything but remain seated in their glass cells, away from each other.

The room's door unlocked and they lowered their hands quickly as they turned to look at the door on the other side of Barry's cell. The door opened and the four abducted police officers walked in, with Ruby and Topaz tailing them. Once they were inside, Topaz locked the door and stood in front of it, guarding the only exit.

Kiera and Barry looked at the officers lined up in front of their cells. Kiera noticed one looked young, probably right out of the police academy, and the others ranged up in age. They were still in their uniforms, which seemed to be clean, as if nothing had happened to them, and they all had blank stares, evidence that Ruby was using her mind control.

"Joe!" Kiera heard Barry shout, his voice getting stuck in his throat, and she focused on his adoptive father at the end of the line. Kiera felt her stomach rise to her throat as she looked at him, stunned. The right side of his face was swollen and bruised, centering around his black eye. He had been beaten after he snuck the information to them in the live video.

"Let them go! You have us! You promised you'd like them go!" Flash screamed as he banged his gloved fist against the glass. He only glanced at Ruby, keeping his focus on Joe, who stared at him with a blank expression as if not even recognizing Barry.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Fine. Fine. We'll let them go. They'll forget they were even here," she smirked and then turned to the officers. "Come on, boys," she commanded them and they turned, following the two villains back out of the room.

After the door locked again and everything became quiet once more, Kiera glanced over at Barry. She sighed silently, seeing him sitting in a corner of the cell, his elbows on his knees and his palms pressed against his masked head and the metal headpiece that covered the top third of his head. Seeing Joe hurt like that already begun the torture session for Barry. His father was beaten because of him and he couldn't do anything, except beg, to make sure he was safe. Kiera felt his emotions; she felt his despair, his anger, his fear, and his shame.

 _Barry..._ A tear escaped her eye and left a wet trail over her mask as it made it's way down her cheek.

He didn't move. He just sat there, his eyes closed tight and his head facing downward. Kiera repositioned herself so she was siting in front of him, ignoring the pain it caused. She pressed her hands against the glass and stared at him. _He's safe now. Him and the other officers are safe._

 _How do you know that?_ His mental voice was almost inaudible. _We don't trust her. We_ _can't_ _trust them. They could be putting them back into cells or brainwashing them to be her new guards._ He slowly lifted his head to look at her, his eyes showing his misery.

Kiera opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. She didn't know what to say to encourage him. She knew he was right. The officers could still be in Ruby and Topaz's hands. They might be tortured for just seeing the heroes locked in their cells or seeing the villains without their masks. Or they could be locked up again to use against Telegirl and Flash later.

Before Kiera could try to encourage him again, the door unlocked again. She quickly wiped the tear from her mask and cheek and moved back to where she was sitting before.

 _Hang in there, Barry. We'll make it through this. We'll find a way out of this place and we_ _will_ _find Joe._

Ruby and Topaz stepped in and Topaz locked the door behind them. Ruby walked to the center of the room and faced the two cells.

"Now, where were we?" she paused and looked at them, pretending to think about what they were talking about before. "Ah, yes, fun," she smirked and nodded to Topaz.

He walked across the room to a dark corner and wheeled something out of the shadows. Kiera's eyes widened when the light caught the object and exposed it. Topaz pushed it off of the dolly and secured it to the ground several feet from the cells. Once he was done, Ruby walked over and put a hand on top of it.

The villain was smirking as she leaned against a metal chair that looked like a torture chair that would be seen in a Science Fiction movie, complete with restraints.

"We're going to have a lot of fun in this chair," Ruby remarked as she shifted her weight and ran her hand down the arm of the chair. "Especially you, Telegirl," she looked over at the caged hero and smirked.

Telegirl narrowed her eyes at her captor, but her heart sped up at the thought of what Ruby might have planned.

"No!" Barry blurted out and struggled to stand up. After a minute, he finally got on his feet and had to lean against the glass to keep his balance as he head spun. He winced as his body surged with new pain and his head pounded from the effort, but he quickly regained his composure and looked back at Ruby with narrowed eyes. "Do whatever you want to me, but leave her alone!" he demanded, trying to sound commanding, even though he was her captive.

Kiera's heart sank. Barry was being brave, but foolish. If she really had taken away their powers, Barry wouldn't stand a chance against the villain. If his powers were gone, his fast healing might be as well, which meant Barry's blood in her system would do little to help her also.

Ruby was a skilled spy and assassin, so most likely a skilled interrogator as well. Knowing her, she most likely had a lot planned for this 'interrogation' and from Ruby's comment, Kiera knew that she would be focusing on her.

Ruby Siren laughed at Flash's outburst, seeing she'd already started to break him. "Don't worry, Flashie, we are going to have a lot of fun with you too!" she smirked and turned her head to look at him as she stopped in front of the chair. "And it sounds like you want to go first," she added and glanced at Telegirl, her smirk widening. Kiera's eyes widened; she knew what Ruby was doing. She was going to torture Barry just to torture her, just to make Kiera feel helpless. Even though this first part had only Flash in the torture chair, Kiera would feel just as tortured.

Topaz came out of the shadows and walked silently towards Flash's cell. He raised a tablet he was carrying and tapped on it, making the glass wall in front of him open. He then handed the tablet to Ruby before walking into the cell. Flash narrowed his eyes and tried to fight Topaz, but he was too weak and Topaz was larger and stronger than him. He quickly got the upper hand and secured Flash's hands behind his back with both hands before nodding to Ruby. On cue, she stepped up to the cell and stopped before Barry. Even though the cell was raised a few inches from the floor, Ruby, with her stiletto boots, still stood about the same height as him. She smirked and studied his face for a moment.

"I enjoyed our time together in private. No masks, or fancy suits," she paused looked down at their similar colored suits. "Well that is until Telegirl made me forget your name and face under that mask," she finished and feigned a sad face as she glanced at Telegirl. Kiera narrowed her eyes from where she sat on the floor of her cell. "But well, that will change once more."

"No!" Telegirl shouted and struggled to stand, knowing what Ruby was planning to do next. Telegirl's reaction made Ruby's smirk wider, enjoying the torture already.

"Get away from me, you witch!" Flash spat out and weakly struggled against Topaz's grasp. Topaz easily kept him still, holding his hands tightly behind his back.

Ruby chuckled at Flash's threat and shook her head. She looked down at the tablet and tapped the touch screen. Barry's headgear and the tech above the cell beeped and the blue lights went out. Ruby set the tablet down before reaching up and carefully taking the metal headpiece off his head.

Kiera watched from her cell, finally on her feet, but had to lean against the glass as her head spun and body ached from the movement. Barry glanced over at her, his eyes wide under his red mask.

 _Only temporary, I promise. As soon as we escape I'll make her forget again, I_ _swear_ _!_

Barry nodded and cautiously looked back at Ruby. He continued to struggle, even though it did nothing for him.

"I could have taken your masks off while you were out, but what's the fun of that?" She looked at Telegirl and then at Flash. "You've seen mine, Flashie, now show me yours," She smirked at him as she looked at his red mask.

Flash stopped struggling and Topaz slowly let go of his hands. Under Ruby's control, Barry raised his hand and pushed his mask off his head, revealing his full face.

Ruby's twisted smile grew wider. "That's better. Well, you are handsome, aren't you?"

Barry just stared at her, his face blank. Kiera's heart dropped as she looked at the man she loved, under Ruby's control once more. Ruby could do whatever she wanted to him, and Barry wasn't in his right mind to fight back. And all Kiera could do was watch.

"Now time for the good part," Ruby said. "What's your name, Flashie?"

Kiera held her breath and watched, wishing with every bone in her body that she could protect Barry's mind from the evil woman before him.

Barry didn't respond.

"Well?" Ruby asked, becoming impatient.

Barry just stared at her and that's when Kiera realized her wish had come true. Her powers had somehow broken through the power-dampening tech and blocked Barry's mind again. Kiera couldn't help, but smile.

Flash smirked and Ruby quickly caught on to what was happening. She looked over at Telegirl, confused. "How…?"

Now it was Telegirl's turn to smirk at her arch nemesis. She quickly flicked her wrist and Topaz crashed into the cell's back wall and fell to its floor with a loud groan.

Lightning flashed across Barry's skin and he leaned forward about to speed past Ruby, but she saw his movements and quickly held up her hand, freezing his body in place with her Telekinesis.

Ruby narrowed her eyes at him and then at Telegirl, before looked down at her tablet, dragging her index finger of her free hand along its surface quickly. Telegirl tried to stop her, but her head pounded from the effort it took to use her powers again.

"There will be no more of that!" she shouted out furiously. "I've cranked up the tech to its highest level. Even you can't break through that!" Topaz recovered quickly and stood up behind Flash again.

Telegirl looked up at the device sitting above the cell and then back at Ruby, her eyes narrowing. She flicked her wrist again to send Ruby flying, but nothing happened. She repeated the action several more times, but Ruby stayed standing in front of the cell.

The smirk returned to Ruby's face and she turned back to Barry, lowering her hand as she released him from her invisible grip. "I'll ask again, Flashie, what is your name?"

"No!" Telegirl screamed and slammed her fists against the glass. _Barry, listen to me! Don't give in! Don't tell her anything! Resist! Barry, please!_ She pleaded with him mentally, but Barry didn't move.

Barry blinked and the blank stare returned. "Bartholomew Henry Allen," he replied in a monotonous tone.

"Bartholomew? That's a mouth full! What do your friends call you?" Ruby asked as she crossed her arms, watching her victim with pride.

"Barry."

"Ah, Barry! Now I remember!" she smirked as her lost memories returned.

Telegirl narrowed her eyes and pressed against the glass as she tried to break through device's power overhead, but nothing happened.

"No! No! Let him go!" her voice cracked as she watched Barry stare blankly at Ruby, waiting for another command.

"It sounds like we should start the next part," Ruby said and smiled at the men in front of her. She stepped aside, giving them room to step out of the cell. "Come on out, Barry," her playful tone matching her expression.

Barry stepped down, out of the cell and Topaz followed, a smirk forming on his lips also.

"Sit in the chair, Barry, we're going to have some fun," Ruby commanded as she motioned toward the torture chair in the center of the room.

Barry obeyed her and started toward the chair.

"Don't do this, Ruby!" Telegirl shouted and banged her hands against the glass several times.

Ruby just looked over at her and smirked as Barry walked toward the chair. "Can't protect your little boyfriend now, can you?"

 _Barry! Don't do it! Don't sit down! Come on, Barry! Resist her commands! You can do it! I know you can!_

Barry didn't even flinch as he walked. He sat down in the chair, as if he were just sitting down on a couch. Kiera narrowed her eyes at Ruby as Topaz strapped him in. He pulled two metal arms up from the chair's headrest and they pressed against Barry's temples to lock his head in a forward position. Then Topaz placed the metal headgear back onto his head and secured it carefully. He picked up the tablet and tapped the screen, causing the blue light to blink back on.

"Don't do this! Let him go!" She repeated as she banged her gloved hands over and over against the thick glass walls of her cell.

Ruby ignored her pleas and looked down at Barry. "Now to make it more fun, I release you from my commands-" she paused and glanced at Telegirl. "-for now."

Barry blinked and his blank stare faded. He glanced at Ruby and then at Kiera as fear started to seep back into him. He clenched his jaw and put on a brave face, trying to prepare himself for whatever might come next.

 _Barry, I can't block your mind from her anymore! I can't help you!_ Kiera felt pure terror bubble up inside of her as she watched her arch nemesis finish strapping him to the chair. She blinked back tears that threatened to fall as she watched him take deep breaths to calm himself.

Barry looked over at her, his face sober. _Don't worry, Kiera. I can handle it._

Kiera shook her head, terrified of what Ruby would make her watch happen to him. She knew she wouldn't be able to take much. Just watching him under her control again made her want to do anything to stop it.

"Now, where should I start?" Ruby stared down at him. Barry tried to get out of the restraints, but the bands around his wrists, biceps, torso, thighs and ankles were too tight and strong to even budge.

"You're too handsome to damage physically," Ruby smirked and ran her hand up Barry's arm, brushing against the rough restraints holding his arm in place. Barry narrowed his eyes at Ruby and tried to squirm. "But if you do misbehave, there will be consequences." Topaz stepped forward and held up his hand. Fire burst to life on his hand and spread until his whole hand was engulfed in flames.

Kiera's eyes widen at the sight and begged as she banged her fist against the glass wall. She glanced up at the glowing machine above her cell and tried to focus on breaking through again.

"So we'll go straight to your mind," she said in a softer voice and pulled up a chair beside him. She sat down on the edge and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's start with an easy question. Who are your friends?" Ruby closed her eyes and focused on entering Barry's mind. Without Kiera to guard his mind, Ruby entered it easily.

"Looks like you're a popular man, Barry. I see Caitlin, Cisco- already met them- oh and Linda and Patty," Ruby smirked. "Previous girlfriends. There's Wally, Felicity, Ah, who's this? Oliver Queen. He's the Arrow? Now that's juicy!" she chuckled. "I see Harrison Wells and another Harrison Wells?" she tilted her head, confused. "The first one betrayed you. It still stings, I can feel it," she smirked, liking what she found. "Let's see what happened, shall we?" Barry squirmed.

"No!" Telegirl shouted and kicked the glass with her boot, trying to weaken the cell around her.

Barry's face changed quickly as Ruby pulled memories that he had hidden away back to the surface. As Ruby forced the memories to replay themselves in his mind, tears started to form in his eyes. His hands loosened their grip of the armrest and formed fists. The betrayal now fresh in his mind.

Kiera leaned against the glass, feeling helpless as she watched him relive one of the darkest times in his life. His friend, mentor, and role model had turned out to be a completely different man, one from the future, a man who turned out to be his enemy in the future. And he travelled back in time to ruin Barry's life. And one of Barry's friends had died to save him and the world; a burden that he carried every day.

After several minutes of silence while Ruby and Barry watched what had happened, Barry gasped as if he was coming up for air after being underwater. Emotions flooded through him, causing a couple tears to fall out of the corner of his eyes. Kiera noticed he looked different; he looked dispirited.

Ruby was starting to break him.

Telegirl frantically banged against the glass, her fists turning red and raw under her gloves. _Barry, listen to me! She's trying to break you. Don't let her! Think about something else! Think about what we'll do on this dinner date. Anything!_ Kiera desperately tried to distract him.

Barry looked over at her, his eyes displaying misery and pain. _I'm trying, but I don't know how much more I can take. She's digging in deep._

"Let's move to your parents," Ruby said after collecting herself.

Barry squirmed under the restraints, which made Ruby smirk. "Now we're getting somewhere." Kiera knew if Ruby found out about Barry's parents' deaths, she'd use it to torture him even more and it would be what would finally break him. Telegirl banged against the glass, desperately trying to stop Ruby.

The villain ignored her protests and closed her eyes again as she focused on Barry's mind. "I already learned that Joe is your adoptive father, but who are your real parents?" After searching for a minute, she finally found her answers. A smirk grew across her face as she found the perfect information to torture Barry with.

"Let's see what happened, shall we?"

Barry fought against the bonds that held him to the chair, but all it did was cause new pain to surge through him. Noticing his struggle, Ruby nodded to Topaz and he walked to the other side of the chair.

"I told you, I didn't want to do this, but if you keep resisting, this is a taste of what will happen," Ruby said, as if she were merely talking to child who disobeyed.

Topaz stood over him and pulled off Flash's left glove before pushing up his red sleeve. He lowering his hand, and wrapped his fingers around Barry's lower arm. Fire sparked across the back of his hand and his hand started to glow hot.

"No! Stop! Please!" Telegirl shouted as she desperately tried to break herself out. Tears streamed down her mask and face as she watched the torture.

Barry bit his lip as Topaz's hand started to burn his skin. Not able to hold it back any longer, Barry let out a scream of pain. Topaz let go after a few seconds and stepped back. Where his hand had been Kiera noticed a red blistering patch on Barry's arm. She gasped at the sight and screamed as she kicked the glass over and over again.

"Go ahead and scream, no one can hear you. No one will come to your rescue if you scream," Ruby said as she looked at her captives.

Barry breathed heavily through gritted teeth as he tried to recover from the burn. Kiera cried out in anger as she continued to bang against the glass. _I'm okay, Kiera._ He told her as he looked over at her, trying to reassure her, even though she could feel his pain and fear. Kiera stared at him with wide eyes, unable to think of anything besides him, besides getting Barry out of the hands of the two villains surrounding him. Barry's consoling words did little to help the terror taking of her weak body. She started to shake uncontrollably and her breathing became shallow and uneven.

"Please! Please, don't do this to him!" She screamed at Ruby.

Ruby turned to look at her with a sickening sly smile. "But we're just starting to have fun!"

Kiera narrowed her eyes at the villain. "You won't get away with this! You won't win!"

"Says the captive locked up in her cell. If you haven't looked around recently, honey, you're in _my_ place now and I'm in charge," she smirked and looked back at Barry. "Now let's try this again. If you resist, your arm will soon become as red as your suit. Do you understand?"

"You're sick! Both of you!" Barry spit out and looked up at his two capturers.

"Wrong answer!" Ruby said as she shook her finger like he was still only a disobedient little boy. Topaz grabbed another part of his lower arm and fire licked his hand as Barry's arm started to burn again. Barry let out a scream, which made Kiera even more frantic. Topaz let go of his arm a few seconds later to reveal another blistering patch.

"Now will you behave?" Ruby asked as she looked up from the tablet she was using.

Barry clenched his jaw and looked over at her. "Never!"

All of the air in Kiera's lungs evaporated at his reply and she punched the glass wall in front of her as she screamed her threats toward their captors. Barry closed his eyes tight as he waited for the third burn.

Ruby sighed and shook her head at Topaz to tell him not to do it again. "I didn't want to do this yet, but it seems burning you isn't working, so let's try something else." She looked at Topaz and nodded toward Telegirl's cell.

Barry realized what she was telling her partner to do and he struggled against the restraints. "No! Don't you dare!" Ruby smirked at him as Topaz walked toward Telegirl's cell. Kiera's eyes widened as she too caught on and she backed up, away from the cell's door. Her back hit the back wall of her cell and she gasped, unable to get away. Ruby tapped the tablet's touch screen and the cell unlocked, so Topaz could open it.

In an act of panic, Telegirl lunged forward and tried to kick Topaz in the chest, in the way Barry had showed her during their training sessions, but her opponent easily caught her boot and twisted her leg, so Telegirl was forced to turn around. She screamed in frustration and pain and tried to struggle against his grip. Topaz let go of her foot and quickly grabbed her wrists, yanking them behind her back easily and turning her around so they were facing the open door. Telegirl frantically struggled against his strong grip, trying to get away, but Topaz was too strong and she was too weak.

Barry screamed his protests and struggled against the chair's restraints, as he was now the one helpless as he watched Topaz capture her.

Ruby nodded to Topaz again and before Kiera knew what was happening, she felt weight on her left shoulder that quickly started to warm up. She tried to struggle against his hand, but Topaz was too strong. Expecting the warm hand to burn her shoulder, she bit her lip and closed her eyes tight, but the warmth didn't grow. Instead he heard a rip to her left and glanced over in time to see her left sleeve and glove being yanked off, the top edge of her sleeve was singed. Telegirl squirmed again as she felt Topaz's hand wrap around her slender arm. She looked at Barry to help distract herself and bit her lip again, expecting to feel the heat this time, but once again nothing happened.

"Now will you obey, Barry?" Ruby asked as she turned back to him. "Or do you want to see your girlfriend suffer? I have to admit I do."

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE:** **I was** **watching TV the other day and couldn't believe my eyes! One of the actresses looked almost EXACTLY like how I imagined Ruby (when the actress that black hair). So if you are a visual person or are just curious about how I envisioned Ruby, look this actress up on Google or whatever. Her name is 'Serinda Swan'.**

 **Also if you are curious has to how I imagined Kiera, the closest actress I could find was 'Gabriella Wilde'.**

 **Hope that helps you all. I'm pretty sure the next chapter will take longer to write, but I'll try to write it as fast as I can!  
** **And as always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please include them in your review or send me a PM. I love to hear your feedback. Thank you! (:**


	27. Chapter 27

*****WARNING: This chapter will be slightly more intense than the last. It contains forms of torture (nothing gory). So proceed at your own risk.*****

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE: Hey everyone. I am so sorry I haven't posted in a while. I really had to focus on this chapter, do research, figure out Ruby's mindset and what she would do in these situations, because of her former training and experience. I wanted to show Ruby's evilness in this chapter (but don't worry, it's not really gory or disturbing). Some important facts and info surface in this chapter (and A TON in the next chapter), so I don't recommend skipping this chapter if you don't care for torture scenes (again, don't worry, it's nothing gory, I promise!).**

 **I've been thinking a lot about where my story would fit into The Flash show, and I figured it would be sometime after season 2, but as if the Flashpoint (Barry saving his mother) never happened. Hope that makes sense to you.**

* * *

"Fine! Fine! Do what you want, just don't hurt her!" Barry shouted and struggled against the restraints holding him to the metal chair as he watched Topaz wrap his large hand around Kiera's bare arm. Kiera struggled against his grip on her hands, which were pulled tightly behind her back as she stood in her now open glass cell.

Barry saw Kiera shake her head, pleading with him to not give in, and then looked over at Ruby, who was smirking over him.

Kiera closed her eyes tight to hide the tears forming as her emotions skyrocketed.

 _Barry, you can't! You can't watch your parents die again! Ruby will break you! She'll use her memories against you. She'll…_

 _I can. I'll be fine. Look at me._ _Look at me!_ He begged her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked over at him, tears escaping her eyes. _I'll be fine. I see their deaths every night while I'm asleep, this will be no different. Besides, I can't watch you suffer. I've already seen enough people suffer because of me._

Kiera shook her head again, pleading with him with her eyes. She fought against Topaz's hands, trying desperately to escape and free Barry, but Topaz didn't budge, instead he gripped her hands and arm tighter, causing fresh pain to shoot up her arms.

"I said I'd let you do it! Get on with it!" Barry shouted at Ruby and she grinned. He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes so he couldn't see Kiera's pleading eyes and desperate struggle.

"Alright then," Ruby said with a smirk and placed her hand on his shoulder again as she entered his mind.

"No! Please stop! Please!" Kiera pleaded and continued to squirm.

The two outside of the cell remained silent as Barry's memories of his mother's murder started in their minds. Tears fell down Barry's cheeks as he watched his mother enclosed by two streaks of lightning, screaming for her husband and son. His memories streamed from the different times he had been there that night, first as a little boy and second when he went back and tried to save his mother from The Reverse Flash, but ended up sitting with her during her last minutes alive.

Kiera struggled against Topaz's grip as she felt Barry's emotions flood over her. She fought against him with all of her remaining strength, but never took her eyes off of Barry.

A few minutes later, Barry gasped again, as if he were coming up for air. His eyes opened and he blinked as tears streamed down his cheeks. Kiera saw the misery in his eyes, causing her to struggle harder.

 _Barry? Are you okay?_

He didn't reply right away as he struggled to collect himself. He loosened his grip on the chair's armrests and his knuckles started to change back from white.

 _I'm fine._ Barry lied.

Kiera knew that was a lie. She felt it. Telegirl pulled against Topaz's grip and tried to step on his foot with her heeled boot, but he was too strong and quick. The effort it took to fight was starting to catch up with her. Her body felt weak and burning pain shot through her from the electrical shocks earlier. Her arms felt like they were on fire from being forced behind her back. Her head pounded and still felt foggy, but she wouldn't give it. She had to continue fighting; she needed to find a way to stop Barry's torture.

"Well that was interesting," Ruby said. "Much more dramatic than my parents' deaths."

It took Kiera a minute to realize what she had just said. Ruby just told them something about herself. Something new. Her parents were dead.

"Your parents? They're dead?" Kiera asked in a small voice.

"Yes, they're dead," Ruby confirmed as she stood up and walked toward her cell. She stopped only a couple feet from it and looked at her. If it was a slip up, Ruby was hiding it well. She stood in front of Telegirl, hands on her hips and a wide smirk on her face.

"What happened to them?" Kiera asked quickly, trying to distract Ruby from Barry, who wasn't moving, his face fraught with emotion.

"I murdered them," Ruby admitted, her voice casual as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and not a big deal.

Her words, _"I murdered them,"_ sunk in and Kiera quickly looked from Barry to Ruby, her face changing from concern to shock.

"What?" escaped from Telegirl's mouth as she stared at the villain, stunned.

"I murdered them," she repeated.

"Wh…? Ho…?" Kiera tried to ask, but words wouldn't come out. What had happened to Ruby? What had they done to make her kill them?

Ruby rolled her eyes and walked back to the chair, as if the conversation was boring her. "Now, how did you father die?" Ruby asked Barry as she sat down. Barry slowly looked over at her, his eyes looking dull.

Kiera pushed aside her thoughts and forced back on Barry when she mentioned his father. "No!" Kiera croaked out, her voice cracking. "Please, don't do this to him!" she cried, seeing Barry broken and helpless.

 _Fight this, Barry! Don't let her win! You're strong! Remember that!_ Kiera screamed in her mind, hoping to get through to him. Ruby placed her hand on his shoulder and they closed their eyes as his memories resurfaced.

Kiera felt a wave of warmth radiate down her left arm and she glanced over, expecting to see Topaz's hand glowing orange as it burned her skin, but his hand and her arm were normal. Topaz wasn't burning her arm. Kiera could still feel the slight heat and glanced back at Barry as she tried to figure out why her arm felt like it was under direct sunlight.

Telegirl tried to pull against Topaz's firm grip as she watched Barry's face twist with pain and despair as he was forced to relive his father's death.

After a couple minutes, Barry once again gasped for air and emotions flooded through him. Tears escaped his rapidly blinking eyes as his father's death replayed over and over again in his mind. Zoom had abducted him so fast and plunged his arm through his chest before he could've done anything. The death was sudden and shocking, something Barry still hadn't processed fully.

Ruby looked at Barry, who was trying hard not to look her or Kiera, and then over at Telegirl. "Well, I think we're finished for now," she smirked and stood up.

Topaz nodded and slammed Telegirl into glass wall to their left, pinned her there so he could get by. Telegirl groaned, her body screaming out in pain and even though Topaz had let go of her arm, she still felt the heat that radiated up and down her arm. She gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the pain shooting through every inch of her body as she struggled push herself off the wall and fight back.

The fire-controlling Meta stopped when he was at the cell's open door and roughly pushed the struggling Telegirl towards the back of the cell, giving him time to close and digitally lock the cell door before she could recover.

Kiera groaned as she hit the cell's metal floor hard. Fresh pain exploded under almost every inch of her skin. After recovering, she struggled to ignore the pain and stand up. She whipped around to try and escape, but the door was already closed. She narrowed her eyes and stepped forward, leaning against the glass door. "You can't keep us here!" she shouted at the villains as they started to free Barry from the metal chair.

"Oh, but we can and we will for as long as we want," Ruby smirked and looked up at Kiera as she loosened the strap around his right ankle. Barry's eyes were glazed over, making Kiera's stomach drop.

 _Barry? Can you hear me? Barry! Come on, you can fight this! Listen to me! We need to go save Joe!_

At the mention of Joe, Barry glanced over at her with sorrowful eyes.

 _Just hold on. We'll get out of here! I promise!_ Kiera mentally told him before she looked around at the cell and the room for any way out.

After Ruby and Topaz untied Barry, Topaz pulled him off the chair and roughly pushed him towards his empty cell as Ruby opened the cell's door with the tablet.

"No! Please let him go!" Kiera screamed and banged her fists against the glass as she watched him stumble towards the cell's open door without even trying to fight back.

Ruby turned to face her captured nemesis and her red lips twisted up into a smirk. She knew she had won and she loved every second of the torture.

Telegirl glanced back at Barry and Topaz and say him shoving Barry into the cell. Barry fell to the cell's metal floor and groaned weakly, not even attempting to stand back up as his captor locked the door behind him.

 _Barry? Barry! Listen to me! You have to get up! You have to show them they aren't winning! You have stay strong, so we can find a way out!_

The un-masked Flash didn't move. Kiera wasn't even sure if he could hear her anymore.

 _Barry!_ Her mind screamed and she slammed her palm against the glass wall.

"We'll be back," Ruby said, which made Kiera look past Barry and noticed the two villains were now standing at the room's only exit. Ruby gave her a smug smile before walking out; leaving Topaz to close the door once they were out.

Once the door clicked closed and she heard the sound of the lock turning, Kiera turned her focus back to Barry. She painfully lowered herself to sit against the glass wall that showed her his cell. She watched him for a few minutes, her heart breaking at the sight.

"Barry," she whispered, trying a different way in the hopes of reaching him. He didn't move at first, but after a couple minutes he slowly lifted his head and looked at her with sad eyes. The memories of his parents' deaths still fresh in his mind as well as whatever Ruby did to him while he was strapped to that chair.

"I know it's hard, but you have to focus on helping me find a way out. You need to push the memories out of your head for a bit. Please!" Kiera pleaded in a soft tone as she placed her hand on the glass. "Please come back to me. If we focus we can get out of here before they come back. Do you think you can do that?"

Barry shook his head and closed his eyes tight. "I… I can't," he whispered back and slowly opened his eyes again after seeing flashbacks of his parents dead on the ground. "I failed them. I failed to protect them," he looked down at his shaky hands.

"It's the past, Barry It's over. You can't dwell on that. I know how hard it can be, trust me," Kiera looked down also, trying to blink back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks and mask. "But we need to focus on getting out of here or I think we might end up dead as well," she whispered as she looked up quickly and glanced at the room's locked door.

That clicked with Barry and he looked up at her, his eyes clear and determined, as if a light switch was turned back on and he was back to being the strong and tenacious Flash. He stood up quickly, ignoring the pain as he looked up at the glowing device above his cell and then reached up to touch the tech on his head.

 _Do you think you can break through it again?_ He asked mentally as he looked back over at her.

 _It's too strong._ Kiera shook her head as she also stood up carefully.

 _Then we need to figure out a way to turn it off or disrupt the signal._ Barry said as he ran his fingers over the metal components of the headpiece.

 _It's all controlled by that tablet they have._

They glanced over at the tables near the chair, but the tablet wasn't on any of them.

 _They must have taken it with them._ Kiera concluded and sighed.

As Barry searched the room and their cells for any way out, his left arm caught Kiera's attention. His sleeve was still pushed up to the middle of his bicep and his lower arm was almost completely covered in bright red burns and blisters.

 _Barry, your arm…_ Kiera managed as her eyes widened. She suddenly realized the burns on his arm was the reason why she was feeling warmth radiate up and down her left arm. Their connection was weaker due to the power-dampening tech on their heads and over their cells, but she could still feel a degree of his pain.

Barry looked down at his arm, his mind finally registering the burning pain that resulted from Topaz's scorching hands. He winced and quickly looked away from his burnt arm.

 _It's fine._

 _No, it's not, Barry! That should have started to heal already! The tech really did take away your body's rapid healing._ Kiera frowned and glanced up at the glowing blue light above her cell.

 _Another reason why we need to get out of here._ Barry responded, mentally as he tried to ignore the sweltering pain that radiated through most of his lower arm. The only spots that didn't feel like they were on fire were the two dark red splotches, which were likely third degree burns from were Topaz's hand had been.

 _I think-_ A click interrupted Kiera and they quickly looked over at the door.

 _We need to get that tablet!_ Barry stated mentally as he glanced over at Kiera. She nodded back to him and they looked back at the door.

Ruby Siren strutted in and Topaz followed after he locked the door. Telegirl narrowed her eyes under her mask as the villain looked at her with a smirk, but it faded when she turned her attention to Barry. He was standing, staring back at her as if he hadn't just been in the torture chair behind her, with the exception of his bright red, blistering left arm.

Kiera couldn't help but smirk as she saw confusion and disbelief spread across Ruby's face for a few seconds before she collected herself and narrowed her eyes at her two prisoners.

"Looks like it's time for more fun," she sneered. "And it's your turn, Telegirl." Ruby turned to her and smirked. Telegirl narrowed her eyes at the woman on the other side of the glass, but internally she was terrified. She saw what Ruby had done to Barry and she knew Ruby was going to do a lot worse to her, if she got the chance. Flash had just been her trophy, her way of adding to Telegirl's torture. She was the one that kept messing up Ruby's plans and now she was going to make sure Kiera paid for it.

 _Stay calm._ Barry said in her mind. _Try to get free. Try to get the tablet. Focus on your task. I know you can do this, Kiera._

Kiera glanced over at Barry and nodded her head slightly. She took a deep breath to try to relax, knowing Barry could feel her fear also. She turned her head back towards the cell's door and saw Topaz approaching the cell while Ruby stood next to the chair with the tablet in her hand.

 _I'm not strong enough to get out of Topaz's grip and get the tablet._

 _But you know how to use his size against him. He'll be slightly slower than you; use that._ Barry said mentally as he watched the Meta approach her cell.

His coaching encouraged Kiera. She stepped back, to the center of the cell and readied herself for Topaz's attack. Even though her whole body ached from the earlier slams into the glass and floor and radiated with pain from the electrified net and Barry's burned arm, she managed to stay upright. She tried to push the aches and pains from her mind and focus on her task ahead.

Get the tablet, turn off their headgear and free Barry.

The cell's door unlocked and Topaz pulled it open. Telegirl didn't move as Topaz stepped up into the cell, she watched his every move, waiting for the perfect time to start.

 _Now!_ Barry confirmed and Kiera lunged forward, faking a punch to the left to make him move to the right. He saw the punch and moved aside just like she wanted him to. Telegirl stepped past him quickly and was about to step out of the cell, when Barry warned her.

 _Duck, move right!_

Kiera tried to do as he said, but her legs decided now was the time to go weak. She gasped and stumbled sideways, ramming into the glass wall. Fresh pain surged through her right shoulder and down her arm.

The room started to spin, but she heard banging on glass and realized it was Barry.

 _Kiera? Kiera! Get up! He's on top of you!_

Kiera gritted her teeth and tried to push herself up off the floor as the spinning room slowed down. Her vision returned and she saw the black and burnt orange pattern of Topaz's suit in front of her as she struggled to stand back up.

"You're too weak to even try to escape," Topaz smirked.

Telegirl narrowed her eyes as she stood to her full height and looked up at the large man before her.

"Hurry it up, my love," Ruby said in a bored voice.

Topaz lifted his right arm and reached out to grab Telegirl's left arm. Kiera saw a window and quickly stepped to her left to dodge his hand. She focused on fight and tried to push all the pain out of her mind, but everything was screaming in protest.

Topaz saw her move and instinctively lunged to grab her arm with his left hand. Telegirl ducked under his approaching arm and sprang for the open cell door. Before she could reach the exit, she felt a large hand wrap around her left arm. Kiera cried out in frustration and pulled against Topaz's grip, but it was too tight. She struggled again, just like earlier, but she knew it was no use. Kiera wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Telegirl fought against his grip, causing Topaz to slam her against the opposite wall. She cried out and fidgeted, but Topaz quickly pulled her arms behind her back again. He held them with his right hand, gripping her left shoulder with the other and pulled her off the glass wall before shoved her forward, towards the cell's open door. Kiera gritted her teeth as new pain surged through her body. As she was forced to take a step forward, she glanced over at Barry's cell.

He was banging on the glass with his fists as he pleaded and shouted threats at their captors. Kiera tried to put on a brave face for him, but she knew he could feel her fear. Her heart was thundering against her ribs and her eyes were wide with fear as she looked at torture chair that she was approaching.

Topaz turned her around so her back was to the chair and shoved her toward it. Telegirl gasped as she fell back against the chair and struggled to push herself up off it, but Topaz's hands were gripping her again. He pulled her up onto the chair as Kiera tried to struggle out of his grasp. She felt the cold metal against her bare left arm and neck and she shuttered as if she were in freezing water. She felt something rough wrap around her wrist and looked over to see Ruby holding her left arm down as she secured her wrist with a strap.

"Let me go!" Kiera screamed and struggled harder, but with both of them holding her down, it made it easy to secure her in the chair. A strap secured around her left bicep, then around her torso, thighs, and ankles as she squirmed. With most of her body tied down, Ruby let go and nodded to Topaz.

Topaz moved to Telegirl's right and held her sleeved arm down against the chair's armrest. Not knowing what he was going to do, Kiera tried to yank her only free limb out of his grasp. He moved his hands, keeping one on her lower arm and the other rested on her shoulder. Telegirl's eyes widened as she realized what he was going to do. She gritted her teeth and tried to focus on imagining him flying across the room, but nothing happened, the power-dampening headgear was still working perfectly.

"Let her go! Do whatever you want to me, but let her go!" Kiera heard Barry shout as he continued to bang against his glass cell. She felt tears well up in her eyes and she closed them to prevent herself from looking at Barry.

Telegirl's shoulder started to warm up as Topaz's hand burned through her suit. A few seconds later, she heard the sound of fabric ripping and her arm was suddenly bare. She felt the ice cold metal beneath her right arm and the warmth continuing to grow on her shoulder. Instead of pulling away once he burned through the suit like he did last time, his hand remained on her shoulder. A scream escaped her lips as the warmth turned into intense heat. Kiera felt the searing pain spread as his hand burned the skin on her shoulder.

He pulled his hand away a few seconds later, leaving a bright red patch behind. Kiera bit her lip as her skin continued to feel like it was on fire. She squirmed, trying to get her hand free, even though it made the burning pain worse, but her bicep and wrist were quickly strapped down.

"Let me go!" Telegirl screamed as tears streamed down her face. She saw a blurry black and red shape above her and realized it was Ruby. She tried to pull her limbs from the restraints, but the movement only caused the rough fabric bands to dig into her skin and suit. She hissed at the pain and stopped moving her head.

Kiera felt warm hands hold the sides of her head to immobilize her and she tried to squirm out of their grasp. She heard clicking noises on either side of her head and cold metal pressed against her temples, right below the power-dampening headgear. The hands let go of her head and she tried to move her head, but it was held in place by the metal arms she saw them secure on Barry's head earlier.

"You won't get away with this!" Kiera hissed as she continued to struggle, but tried to keep her right arm still as movement made her shoulder erupt in new sweltering pain.

Kiera's vision cleared and she saw Ruby smirk as she looked down at her.

"I've tortured assassins, bodyguards, soldiers and spies and no one has found out so far, so you two will be no problem," she grinned proudly as if she should be awarded for what she did.

"You're sick!" Telegirl spat out as she struggled against the restraints.

Ruby just laughed and sat down in the chair beside her. "It's time to begin. Let's start with your mask," she grinned wide. "It's only fair after all. You took off mine and I get to take off yours."

Telegirl narrowed her eyes and struggled harder under the restraints, causing them to dig into her skin. She winced and bit her lip.

Ruby smirked and leaned forward, reaching out her hands towards Telegirl's mask. Kiera tried to pull away from her hands as she felt Ruby pull off her mask.

"See? Not so hard now was it?" Ruby teased and threw the mask on the floor. "Now I see why The Flash has a side kick," she chuckled and pushed a strand of Kiera's messy blonde hair off her face. "You scored, Barry," Ruby smirked, as she looked at her other captive. Kiera glanced over at Barry, who narrowed her eyes at the villain and banged on the glass, desperately trying to get out and save Telegirl.

Ruby leaned forward and separated some of Kiera's hair. She played with it, smirking widely as she focused on twirling the hair around her finger. She looked like a predator playing with her food.

"Do I need blonde hair to win your heart, _Flash_?" Ruby turned her head and smirked at Barry. "Or is black hair good enough?" She lifted her hand to her own curled hair. "You still love Iris after all," Ruby admitted and smirked.

Barry's eyes widened, not even realizing it himself and stunned by how Ruby could have known, until he remembered she had been in his head and seen everything inside. He just narrowed his eyes at the villain and slammed his gloved fist against the glass wall.

Ruby laughed and looked back at Kiera. "Now, what is your real name, Telegirl?"

Kiera squirmed in the chair and stayed quiet.

Ruby sighed. "This is your last chance to tell me before I force it out of you," she threatened.

Kiera clenched her jaw. It took everything she had not to give in to Ruby. She didn't want Ruby to torture her, but she also didn't Ruby to use her secret identity against her. She might not have any family left, but she did have new friends, and a new life. And she wasn't going to give it up just when she was starting to get used to it, just when she was starting to love her life again.

Ruby grew impatient and placed her hand on Kiera's arm as she closed her eyes. Kiera knew what she was trying to do; she was trying to get her mind. Kiera closed her eyes also and focused on forming a mental wall around her mind to block Ruby out. Her hands formed fists as she tried to push away the pain surging through her body and concentrate on her mind.

After a minute of mentally fighting against Ruby, she suddenly felt a sharp pain radiate through her head. To Kiera, it felt like an explosion went off inside her mind. She screamed in pain as Ruby attacked her mind. She felt wave after wave of sharp pain shooting through her head like knives. Kiera tightened her fists; her knuckles turning white and her nails dug into her palms, easily breaking the skin and freeing blood that dripped onto the metal armrests.

Kiera tried to focus on protecting her mind from the villain, but it grew harder and harder by the second. She gritted her teeth and tried to push Ruby out of her head with everything she had. Kiera suddenly felt lightheaded and nauseous as the world started to fade away and then everything went dark.

What felt like a second later, Kiera heard faint talking beside her. Her head pounded and felt heavy. She tried to move it, but it wouldn't budge and instead made her head pound. The voices around her slowly became louder and clearer and another voice joined in, except it wasn't whispering like the other two. The third voice was louder, like it was screaming. Kiera desperately tried to focus on what it was saying, but her head was pounding loudly inside her skull. She tried to move her body towards the new voice, but it wouldn't move.

Then the voice rang out as clear as church bells and she realized the voice was inside her mind and not beside her like the other two voices somewhere to her right.

 _Kiera? Kiera! Wake up! Come on! Wake up! You need to wake up! We need to find a out of here!_

Kiera's eyes opened wide as she recognized the voice. It was Barry's.

She groaned as bright light flooded her eyes, shooting daggers of pain behind her eyes. She closed them again. Everything was so bright. Where was she? What happened?

Then she remembered. The mansion, the traps, the glass cells, Ruby, Topaz, Barry's torture, being strapped to a metal chair, the mental fight against Ruby. Kiera opened her eyes again, squinting and blinked repeatedly against the bright light above her.

"Ah, your sleeping beauty is awake again, _Flash,_ " Kiera heard Ruby say from somewhere on her right.

Ruby's teasing made her frantically pull against the restraints holding her body to the chair, making her body ache even more, her head to pound harder and fresh burning pain to radiate from her burned shoulder. She winced and looked over at Barry's cell. Barry was standing behind the glass door, his breathing shallow, his bare left hand and gloved right one pressed against the glass and his eyes showing his desperation to get out of the cell and free her.

 _How long was I out?_

 _About ten minutes._ Barry answered mentally. Kiera's eyes widened as it sunk in. Even though it only felt like a few seconds, she had really been out for several minutes. What did Ruby and Topaz do in that time?

Unable to move her head, she looked down at her body as best she could, but didn't see anything different. Her suit was still intact, except for the torn off sleeves and gloves, her boots were still on and her body was still strapped down by the black fabric restraints.

Ruby came in Kiera's line of vision and sat down in the chair beside her. "How are you feeling, _Telegirl?_ Ruby teased. Kiera narrowed her eyes, causing pain to shoot through her head.

"You Brain Blasted me!" Kiera spat out.

"Is that what it's called?" Ruby smirked. "I needed inside your mind and you fought back, so I had to do something," she continued in a relaxed tone.

"It seems this is going to be harder than I thought. My usual tricks don't work on you, so this will probably get messy," Ruby said seriously at first as she studied Telegirl, but then one end of her mouth turned up into a smirk.

Kiera stopped struggling for a minute and looked at Ruby, trying to put on a brave face, even though she was terrified of what Ruby had in mind.

"Let her go!" Barry screamed as he slammed his palm against the cool glass.

"Aw, Prince Charming is so cute. He thinks threats will make me surrender," she looked over at him with a smirk. "But I have everything I want right here." Ruby's hand trailed down to the restraints holding her right arm down, making Kiera's skin crawl. "Telegirl. The girl who thought she could defeat me." Ruby leaned in and whispered in Kiera's ear. "I'll show you just what I'm capable of and you can't stop me. No one can."

"We'll get out of here, I can promise you that! And when we do, you'll regret what you did to us!" Barry shouted as he leaned against the glass door. Kiera could tell he was trying to keep it together for her. He was just as terrified as she was of what Ruby was going to do.

Ruby laughed at Barry's threat. "Again with the threats! Do all of your other enemies just lie down and give up when you threaten them? Well it won't work on me!" She turned her attention back to Kiera, who was frantically trying to loosen the restraints that held her down, but all it did was cause the rough fabric to dig further into her skin, making it sore and bloody.

"Let's get you into a better position first," Ruby muttered and picked up the tablet. She tapped on its surface and the chair started to move. It straightened, so Kiera was now in a lying position, her arms secured on either side of her body and her legs flat, shoulder length apart. The chair tilted, so Kiera's legs were angled down and her head was slighter higher than her feet.

"You need a good view of course," she smirked Barry. He clenched his jaw and glared at her.

Ruby turned her own chair and pulled a metal table closer to Kiera. She examined the table's contents as she tried to decide what to start with. Kiera tried to turn her head to look at what was now only a couple feet from her head, but the metal arms holding her head in place didn't budge. Kiera's eyes widened when she heard metal clicking against metal. She looked at Barry, watching him also struggle to see what was on the table.

Kiera pulled against the restraints, desperately trying to get out of Ruby's reach before she could do anything to her, and knowing what Ruby was, it wasn't going to be pretty. Her attempts proved to be nothing short of feeble and she stopped as her head started to pound again.

"Let's start with this," Kiera heard Ruby mutter as she turned back towards the metal chair, a small scalpel in her hand. Her eyes widened and she squirmed against the restraints.

"Relax, this won't do damage… yet," Ruby smirked and moved her wheeled chair, so she was sitting beside Kiera's torso. "First we need more skin. Lay still, or I _will_ cut you," She leaned forward and slowly lowered the scalpel to her torso. Kiera tried to squirm away from the blade, but the restraints kept her against the chair. She stopped once she saw it was only an inch from her suit. The scalpel lowered into the suit's fabric and Kiera expected to feel the blade puncture the skin, but it didn't. Kiera tried to take shallow breaths so her torso wouldn't move under the blade as it moved through the suit. Ruby moved the scalpel in a straight line just above her hips and another straight line below her bra. She then connected the two lines with two more straight lines down her sides before pulling the rectangle of loose fabric off to reveal Kiera's taut stomach.

Ruby leaned back and placed the scalpel on the table and threw the loose piece of Telegirl's suit on the ground. "It looks like someone already cut you," she said as she slowly ran her finger over a faint scar on the left side of her stomach. Kiera looked down at the scar, remembering it was from the robber who had demanded everything she had during her walk outside of her old apartment building.

Ruby saw Kiera's reaction and smirked. She pulled her hand away from the scar and was about to place the scalpel back on the table when she noticed something.

"What do we have here?" Ruby asked as she looked at the suits small pouches at Kiera's hips. Ruby leaned across Kiera and pulled the left one open. She looked inside, before pulling the items out and spread the travel syringes out on her palm. "What is this? Blood?" Ruby asked as she picked up one of the syringes of Barry's blood. "You really are stranger than I thought," she mumbled. "And what are these?" She picked up one of the two syringes that contained a clear liquid. Kiera saw the blue sticker on the top and she quickly looked at Barry. It was a drug they had used on Ruby before to make her relax and fall asleep so they could capture her. Caitlin must have put two in there for her, in case they needed them to capture Ruby and Topaz again. Barry nodded slightly, understanding what they were without even a mental conversation. "Morphine? Are you a junkie?" Ruby asked and laughed, shaking her head as she placed the syringes on the table beside her.

She turned back toward Kiera and opened the right pouch. Ruby pulled out the small collapsed shield and placed it in her palm.

"What is it?" Topaz, who had been standing out of Kiera's eyesight the whole time, asked as he walked toward Ruby and stopped beside her to get a better look.

Ruby studied the small silver device and smirked when she realized what it was. She pressed the button and it expanded into the clear shield Telegirl used during their fights.

"Your shield. It's pretty ingenious, but can't help you now," Ruby said as she examined the shield. She pressed the button on the inside edge of the shield, making fold back up into the small silver device. Kiera heard a metal tap as Ruby set it on the metal table.

"Now where were we?" Ruby asked as she looked back at Kiera. "Ah, right, your name."

Kiera heard Ruby pick up something metal and looked over to see a small knife in her hand as she turned back to the chair. "I will not tell you my name!" she shouted.

"Oh, but I think you will. And sooner than you think," Ruby smirked and spun the knife skillfully in her hand.

Kiera's eyes followed the knife as it moved around Ruby's hand. She didn't know what Ruby had planned to do with it, but she knew it would be painful. She glanced over at Barry, whose eyes were filled with terror and worry. She looked back at Ruby and the knife, trying to convince herself keeping her name from the villain was worth any torture.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "This is your last chance. Give me your name or I'll have to get it out of you the hard way."

Kiera narrowed her eyes and tried to shake her head, but it didn't budge against the clamps on her temples.

"Hard way it is then," Ruby muttered and lowered the knife toward Kiera's arm. She tried to pull her arm away, but of course it was still tightly strapped to the chair's armrest. The sharp edge of the blade rested lightly on the skin right below the antecubital space of Kiera's right arm. Ruby looked up at Kiera, whose eyes were wide with fear. She knew if she moved even a little or Ruby put even a little more pressure on the knife, the blade would break the skin.

"Did you know us women have twice as many pain receptors as men?" Ruby asked as she continued to watch Kiera's terrified face. "So does that mean we feel twice as much pain as they do? You tell me..." Ruby moved the knife as she pushed it down into Kiera' skin. The knife sliced across the skin of her inner arm, immediately drawing blood.

Kiera gasped and bit her lip hard to keep her from screaming. Ruby pulled the knife away after it finished slicing across her arm.

She looked over at her captive as she wiped the blood off the knife. "Nothing?" Ruby sighed as if disappointed. "You've been a brave little girl so far, but not for much longer." She turned her chair away from Kiera. "My love?" she asked Topaz, who had returned out of Kiera's line of vision. Kiera took deep breaths as she tried to recover from the shallow cut on her arm.

 _Hang in there, Kiera. If they did let Joe go, he'll come back to rescue us, and if not, Caitlin and Cisco will find a way. They always do._ Barry told her, mentally.

Kiera took a deep breath and tried to nod her head. She looked down at the slice on her arm and bit her lip. Warm blood was trickling down her arm and pooling on the metal armrest before dripping down to the room's floor.

Kiera heard the sound of Ruby's chair moving back towards her and she squirmed under the restraints. She pushed and pulled against the bonds, but kept her injured right arm still, as the burn and cut made any movement painful.

Ruby wheeled herself back to the torture chair and held up the knife for Kiera to see. The time the blade looked different. It was glowing slightly orange. Kiera's eyes widened as she realized Topaz had heated the blade.

"No, no!" Kiera cried and squirmed, causing Ruby to smirk. "Please!" she pleaded as she stared at the blade in front of her.

"I warned you, but you didn't listen," Ruby said and lowered the knife towards Kiera's stomach. "So now you will see what happens when you don't cooperate." She stopped an inch above her skin and turned the knife on its side, so the width of the blade was level with Kiera's body. "Now, tell me your full name." Ruby lowered the heated blade, until it rested on her taut stomach.

Kiera screamed in pain and tried to squirm away as the scorching hot blade burned her skin. Ruby pulled away a few seconds later and looked up at Kiera, waiting for an answer.

Tears streamed down Kiera's face and her heart hammered in her chest. She took deep breaths to try to calm herself and looked over at Ruby, who was holding the hot blade a few inches above another part of her stomach.

"I'll ask again, Telegirl, what is your full name?" Ruby asked calmly and lowered the knife an inch.

Kiera's left fist tightened, causing her knuckles to turn a ghostly white. She bit her lip, trying to stay quiet. Trying to resist blurting out her name and giving away her secret identity to her enemy.

The blade lowered another inch.

Barry's protests filled the air. He slammed his hands against the glass and screamed at Ruby to stop, but his words fell on deaf ears.

The heated knife made contact with her skin and she let out a scream. "Fine, fine! Kiera Taylor!"

The blade left Kiera's skin and she took deep breaths as she tried to ignore the pain surging through her body from the burns on her stomach and shoulder and the cut on her arm.

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE:** **Also, I wanted to make it aware that I didn't write Barry as weak or easily broken when he was tortured. Ruby entered Barry's mind, because Kiera was unable to shield it from her, and she did more than just pull his memories; she intensified them, played tricks with him, etc (I'll explain it more when Ruby does a similar thing to Kiera in the next chapter).**

 **And I was planning to end the torture scene in this chapter, but once I dove in and started writing it ended up being a really long chapter, so I'll split it up again. My plan is to write four more chapters for this story (I will also be writing two separate one-shots that readers suggested after this story ends. One about Telegirl of a different Earth- where's she's a villain and not a hero. And one about Catwoman breaking into Central City's museum to commit a heist and Telegirl finds out and tries to stop her). I still can't believe I've written 27 chapters so far! It's all because of you guys! Fact: I haven't finished any other story I've written, ( I always get writer's block and have to give up) but this story is very much alive and I have everything I want to happen planned out ahead of time! I would not have continued writing this story if it weren't for your amazing feedback, reviews and favorites! Thank you all SO much! I truly mean it!**


	28. Chapter 28

**WRITER'S NOTE: Hey everyone! I just wanted to apologize for the LONG wait (well to me and probably some of you, but I do know other writers who don't post new chapters for months). So I thought I'd make it up to you and make this chapter long (well actually it turned out to be longer than I thought and I didn't want to split it up again, but you don't have to know that. ;) )! I didn't realize it took me so long until a few days ago and then I kicked it into high gear and worked hard pretty much all day long, so I could finish quickly and post it for you guys. This took me a long time to write, because I was trying to figure out what other torture Ruby would do and I wanted Kiera's recount of her parents murder to be PERFECT, in a sense. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it. (:**

 **Oh and I changed how Kiera's parents died. After writing it, it just didn't feel right to me; I knew I could do better. So I also had to go back and change where Kiera first mentions her parents' deaths (Chapter 10), so if you want to go back and read it, so you're not confused, please do.  
**

 **ANSWERING Q'S:**

 **Highlander348 asked "So Ruby can't read Kiera's mind yet?"  
No, she couldn't. Not until she entered Kiera's mind in this chapter. **

**She also asked "Has she picked up yet on the telepathic connection between Kiera and Barry yet or is that in the next chapter?"  
You'll find out in this chapter.  
**

 **WinterRain36 asked "Are you getting tired of writing it (this story) or just running out of ideas?  
Neither. I've loved writing this story so much! You, the readers and reviewers have been so nice and have been asking for more and more. I sat down and really thought about whether or not I should continue and I figured out a 3-4 chapter conclusion that I think will wrap this story up perfectly, in a way. Also I thought this story was getting rather long and I didn't want to drag it on and on and lose readers because of it.  
But after this story ends I will be writing two one-shots (in a new story format- in other words, it won't be a chapter in this story, but will be a short story based off this story) that fans have suggested, if you guys, the readers, want me to. (: I love both of their ideas and thought they'd make perfect one-shots after this story ends.  
1\. A one-shot where Batman's Catwoman comes to Central City and tries to steal from it's museum. Telegirl happens to find out and goes to stop her. (I actually imagined Ruby to be similar to Catwoman, except pure evil of course.)  
2\. Kiera/Telegirl on another Earth where she's evil instead of a villain. I like the idea and would love to play around with it, though I'm not entirely sure how I'd write it yet.  
If you like those ideas, please let me know. And if you have any ideas of your own (about this story), I'd love to hear them! I will be posting a poll on either or not I should do these one-shots, after this story ends, so everyone will get a say in either or not I do them.**

 *****WARNING: This chapter will be more intense than the last. It contains forms of torture (nothing really gory) and emotional damage. So proceed at your own risk.*****

* * *

Ruby smirked menacingly down at her squirming prey. "Kiera Taylor?" she repeated the name Telegirl had just confessed to her after she began the torture. Kiera blinked rapidly as tears flooded her eyes and streamed down her face. Brick by brick, Kiera felt her walls starting to fall down; she was losing this fight. She was not brave enough to hold out any longer. "We'll have fun Googling you." Ruby laughed.

Ruby stared at her for several uncomfortable minutes before continuing. "I've been waiting for this moment since the first day I heard about Telegirl," Ruby confessed and placed the hot knife that she had used on Kiera several minutes before, back on the table. "Getting you two here was so easy. All I had to do was threaten the officers' lives," she chuckled as played with some of the tools on the table.

"Easy?! We almost died before we even got inside and we wouldn't have without Joe's message!" Kiera exclaimed as she struggled against restraints.

Ruby laughed and turned her head to look at Kiera. "I knew you'd fall for that! Making Joe give you the message was my love's idea," she confessed and looked over at Topaz.

Kiera's eyes widen as the confession sunk in. She looked over at Barry, who also looked shocked. Joe hadn't secretly given them a message; it was just another one of their tricks. Ruby had brainwashed him to give them that code and information and then acted as if he had sneaked them the message while they weren't paying attention.

"Oh and those traps? None of them would have killed or even seriously injured you," Ruby added in a casual tone. "I wanted you two alive and unharmed for the most part, so we could bring you here." She motioned around the room, which was completely dark except for the lights over their cells and the bright light above the torture chair.

Kiera glanced over at Ruby as her words sunk in. "You planned this all along," she realized.

Ruby nodded and smirked. "You really thought you could find me so easily all those times, when no one- including A.R.G.U.S.- hasn't been able to find me for years? No, I _let_ you find me. I _let_ you capture me- but not before making it look real, of course."

"I found you and Barry through our bond," Kiera said as glanced over at Barry, who looked just as confused as she was.

Ruby chuckled. "I know about your cute little bond. I found it when I first entered his mind. I controlled what signals and info that went through to you. I controlled _him._ It was that easy."

Kiera glared at Ruby, whose bright red lips were pulled up into a devilish smirk. "I even placed an irrational fear of Topaz in your mind when you were distracted, just to torment you and make Topaz's job easier, _Telegirl,_ " Ruby admitted as she picked up a long knife off the table.

"What?" Kiera inhaled sharply as the truth sunk in. Ruby was the reason why she had been so afraid of the man in the building fire. It was why she saw the fiery silhouette in the sunset about a week ago when she and Barry were in the park. It was why she had nightmares of the man in the fire for a few nights after the building fire. Ruby had been able to play with her mind and place fears and maybe even more into her mind.

Ruby's smirk widened when she saw horror pass over her captive's face. "So you did get my little 'care package'. Good, now let's continue."

Kiera struggled against the rough restraints keeping her in the cold metal chair. The burning pain from her shoulder and stomach, stinging pain from the superficial cut on her arm and the slight burning pain left over from the electrical net her and Barry had been trapped under was starting to make Kiera crack. She wasn't able to keep a brave face for her foe any longer, instead she started to beg and cry.

Ruby smirked, watching her success. "Getting your name was the easy part, Kiera," Ruby explained, saying her name in a singsong tone. Kiera glanced over at Barry, who was still standing in his cell. He was leaning against the glass door, his bare hand pressed against the glass to try to show Kiera he was there for her. His face showed how furious he was at Ruby for torturing her, but it was also soft and concerned for Kiera. He was struggling to bravely stay standing, as his legs were weak and throbbing, his head was pounding from his own torture and his burned arm still felt like it was on fire. He could also felt an echo of Kiera's pain through their weakened connection.

 _Hang in there. Keep your eyes on me. You're okay._ Barry didn't know what else to say as she stared at him, terrified to look over at what Ruby was doing. _I love you._ He added and Kiera smiled a little, the message distracted Kiera from the pain and fear, just like Barry wanted.

"Now, I need you to open your mind to me. I need you to let me in," Ruby said, bringing them back to the terrifying reality, as she looked over her shoulder to Kiera.

Kiera's eyes widened and she tried to shake her head. She had seen what Ruby had done to Barry while he was in the chair and she knew Ruby would do even worse to her if she got the chance.

"Still resisting?" Ruby sighed and picked up something from the table. She pushed her chair back towards Kiera and slowly lifted another knife into Kiera's eyesight. This one was bigger than the other; it was slightly longer and almost twice as wide, making Kiera realize if she used this knife to burn her, it would be about twice as much skin burned.

"No! No! Please!" Kiera begged and squirmed in the chair.

"I won't if you let me in right now."

"Let her go!" Barry continued with this protests as he punched the glass wall with his gloved hand, his other arm was now burning intensely from his efforts to escape.

Kiera inhaled sharply and looked Ruby straight in the eye. "No, I won't let you inside my head!" she said as bravely as she could.

Ruby smirked at her attempt at being brave. "Then, I can't say I won't enjoy this." She twirled the knife in her hand and watched it spin and glisten. I think we'll save this one for later," she said, having picked it up, just to torment her. Ruby placed the knife back on the table and picked another took up, before looking back at Kiera. "Did you know that most shallow cuts actually hurt more than deeper ones? Doesn't sound right, does it? Something about exposing the nerves, because it's not deep enough to draw much blood. Let's find out if that's true." Ruby grinned and held up the small scalpel.

Kiera's eyes widened and she squirmed until the restraints as Barry protested from his cell. Kiera felt fear take over her body; Ruby was threatening to cut open her skin. Her heart thundered inside her ribcage, pumping blood and adrenaline through her veins. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks and a cold sweat coated her forehead. With all the strength and energy she could muster, she tried to pull her limbs upward to break through the restraints. The thick fabric didn't budge and the effort made fresh pain rip through her burning shoulder and the deeper cut on her lower arm. A scream escaped Kiera's lips and she lied back against the cold chair.

Ruby chuckled as she watched her captive try to escape, only causing her more pain. "Are you done with your pathetic attempts, Kiera Taylor?" she asked as she looked down at her.

Kiera gritted her teeth and glared at Ruby. "Do… do what you have to do, but I won't let you in my mind!" she said in a shaky voice, failing to sound heroic.

"We'll see about that," Ruby smirked and lowered the scalpel to just above the other cut on her right arm. Kiera bit her lip hard as she tried to prepare herself. Ruby pressed the blade into the tender skin and dragged it slowly across the inside if her arm.

Barry felt slight pain in the inner part of his right arm due to the connection as he saw Ruby slice across her skin. He punched the unbreakable glass with his right fist and gritted his teeth as his bloodied knuckles scrapped against the inside of his glove.

 _I don't know how much longer I can resist._ Kiera admitted mentally to Barry.

 _I know. Just stay strong. I'll figure a way out of here. Just hang in there._ Barry said, trying to comfort her as he looked around the cell for any way out.

 _If she uses the burning knife again…_

 _Don't think about that. That's what she wants. You're fear to take over. Think about something else._

Kiera closed her eyes tight as the blade sliced across the inside of her arm several times. She tried to do as Barry suggested. She tried to distract herself by imagining herself breaking free and defeating Ruby.

 _Didn't think I'd be able to enter, did you?_ Said a sultry voice in Kiera's mind. She recognized it immediately.

She gasped and tightened her fists. _How?_

 _You were distracted._ Ruby answered in Kiera's mind.

Kiera clenched her jaw and tried to focus on pushing Ruby out of her head.

 _Huh uh, don't even think about it._ Kiera suddenly felt searing pain above her ribs, making her realize Ruby was burning her again. She cried out as the patch of skin burned and she started to smell burned flesh. The knife was lifted a couple seconds later and Kiera took deep breaths through her teeth as she tried to recover. _If you try anything, that will happen again._ Ruby's voice said again causing Kiera to squirm against the restraints, but stopped after a minute, when she realized it was no use.

 _Good girl. Now we can officially begin._

Kiera gripped the ends of the armrests tightly as she readied herself for whatever Ruby was going to do.

 _I already know your friends from Barry's memories, so let's go to your parents. They died when you were seven. Let's see how._

Kiera's heart raced even faster at the mention of her murdered parents. She'd spent her whole life trying to push those memories away and now Ruby was going to make her relive them all over again.

 _No! Please, no!_ Kiera tried to shake her head and squirmed on the chair. Hot metal scorched her side and she let out a scream. The knife was pulled after another few seconds and Kiera let out a deep breath.

 _Let's try that again. Let's see how your parents died._

Kiera held her breath as she waited for the memories to surface. Her worst nightmare was to relive her parents' murder and now it was coming true.

 _The memory started in Coast City on September 23_ _th_ _, 1998; the night when everything changed for Kiera. She was only six at the time and her parents' only child. The family was close and happy, as every family should be; at least they were until that dreadful night._

 _Her father had gotten home from work that evening and they had finished her mother's home cooked meal while they talked about their days. After dinner, they had watched their nightly TV show together. After the hour-long show was over, her mother had told her to go get ready for bed and that they'd be up shortly._

 _Little Kiera ran up the stairs, brushed her teeth quickly and changed into her pajamas. She jumped in bed and snuggled with her favorite stuffed animal- a pink unicorn her father had gotten for her last birthday. She eagerly waited for her parents to come in and read her a bedtime story before going to sleep, but after about ten minutes of waiting, she heard something crash downstairs._

 _Young Kiera slowly got out of bed and gingerly walked out of her room, holding her stuffed animal to her chest. She walked down the wide hallway and before she made it to the stairs, she heard something click downstairs._

" _We know you have it!" an unfamiliar voice shouted from the front room, which was right below to the stairs._

" _I… I don't know what you're talking about!" Kiera heard her father say in a terrified voice._

" _You really don't play games with me! Unless you want to see your wife get shot in the head!"_

 _Young Kiera's eyes widened at the threat. She quickly lowered herself to the ground and crawled toward the second floor's railing, which overlooked the living room below._

" _Seriously, I don't have idea what you think I have!" her father nervously told the man._

" _Stop playing dumb! He really will shoot her!" another slightly higher man's voice said._

 _Young Kiera stopped before the railing and laid down on her stomach before she slowly raised her head to look over the hallway's floor and down into the living room. She saw two men standing near the front door, pointing their guns toward the right side of the living room. The men both looked muscular and large under their tailored suits. The man standing about four feet in front of the other looked to be about a foot taller than the other man and had darker combed back hair and a crueler face._

 _Kiera's wide eyes followed the path of their guns and saw her parents standing on the other side of the living room, huddled together as they watched the armed men._

" _Please! I really don't have whatever you think I have!" Kiera's father said as he held her shaking mother tightly in his arms. "What do you want? Money? I'll give you everything we have, just please let us be!"_

 _The taller man stepped toward them and shook his gun at them. "Just give it to us and then we'll go or I swear you'll regret it! Now I'll ask again, where is it?!"_

 _Young Kiera pulled her stuffed unicorn up to her mouth as she watched the tense scene below her from where she was hiding at the top of the stairs._

" _I don't have whatever you think I have! I swear it! Please! Just let us go!" Her father pleaded._

" _Wrong answer!" The taller man shouted and pulled back the trigger on his gun. There was a soft pop and then Kiera's mother collapsed in her father's arms, a red circle in the center of her forehead._

 _Little Kiera muffled her terrified scream with her stuffed animal as she saw her mother dead below her. Her father let out a cry and frantically shook his wife, trying to wake her up, even though it was useless. He pulled her against his chest and cried into her bloodied blonde hair._

" _Now do you remember where it is?!" the taller man shouted, his face emotionless._

 _Kiera's father carefully laid his dead wife on the living room floor and slowly looked over his shoulder at the man who had just shot his wife. He stood up and turned to face the men._

" _You killed her! And for what?! Something I told you I don't have! I swear to you I do not have what you think I have!" her father screamed and lunged toward the taller man._

 _Another soft pop sounded and Kiera saw her father fall to the floor, like her mother had a moment ago. The furry toy muffled Kiera's scream once more as the house suddenly became eerily quiet. She lay frozen on the floor as she stared down at her dead parents in disbelief._

 _The taller man glanced around the room and then turned to face his companion. "He has to have it around here somewhere. Start looking!" he commanded as he took out his cellphone and started to make a call._

 _The other man nodded and walked down the first floor's hallway that led to the back half of the house._

" _Uh, Wyatt? They have a daughter!" Kiera heard the other man shout from the hallway, where their family pictures hung on the wall._

 _Young Kiera watched the taller man look down the hallway and hang up his phone quickly, before walking out of the living room toward the other man._

" _She's probably upstairs. We need to find her! We can't have any loose ends!" Kiera heard the taller man say._

 _Little Kiera's heart sped up as she realized the two men who murdered her parents where now going to look for her. She slid back across the floor and stood up quickly, before she ran down the upstairs' hallway, toward her room. Her small bare feet didn't make a sound as she ran down the carpeted hallway. She ran into her room and opened her closet door to hide inside. Her heart thundered in her small body as she thought of the two men coming after her to probably kill her, just like they killed her parents._

 _Young Kiera pushed her clothes that hung over the closet's dresser to one side of the closet and climbed up onto the dresser. She jumped down the other side and fell into pillows. Her parents had helped her make this small hiding spot for her to hide in if she was ever scared or needed to be alone. All it was, was a small space behind the closet's dresser; only about two feet deep by the length of the dresser, where Kiera and her parents had put pillows and blankets to make a bed-like floor._

 _Little Kiera pulled her hanging clothes back over the dresser and sat down on the pillows. She leaned against the wall and pulled a blanket up over her, holding her stuffed unicorn as she shook in fear. Kiera waited for what seemed like forever, her parents' deaths replaying over and over in her mind as she waited to be found by the two men._

 _Suddenly Kiera heard heavy footsteps, loud breathing and the sound of a metal gun moving in someone's hands. She held her breath as she listened to the men searching her room._

" _Check the closet!" she heard the taller man shout. Heavy footsteps started to approach her closet and then creaking closet door was opened further._

" _Nothing here," the shorter man said after a few seconds of silence._

" _Guess the kid's not in the house. Let's check downstairs. He has to have it in here somewhere," the taller man said as she heard him move toward the bedroom door._

 _She heard the men leave the room, but she stayed in her hiding spot, listening any noises to tell her where they were. She held her stuffed animal to her chest and tried to stay completely still and quiet as the men searched the house._

 _Young Kiera didn't know how long she hid in the closet, but to her it seemed like days. She laid huddled under her blanket, holding her stuffed unicorn tightly as she shook in fear. Kiera kept her eyes closed tight, as if it would help her escape this horrible nightmare. She was too scared to crawl out of her hiding place, in case the men where still in the house, just waiting for her to come out._

 _Drowsiness set in and little Kiera fell asleep behind the dresser in her closet. Luckily her sleep was peaceful and wasn't filled with nightmares of her dead parents and the murderous men that shot them._

 _Little Kiera jolted awake and looked around the dark space, forgetting why she was back there for a minute. Images of her parents' deaths flooded into her mind and she covered her face with her stuffed animal to keep herself from crying out loud._

" _Kiera? Angel? Where are you? It's okay now. You're safe. Come out, Sweetheart," Kiera heard someone shout from the hallway and she realized that was what woke her up._

" _It's okay. The police are here. You are safe, Sweetheart," the calming voice said again and Kiera recognized who the voice belonged to. She slowly pushed the blanket off her head and listened for the voice again to make sure she was not imagining it._

" _Kiera? No one's going to hurt you. You can come out now."_

 _Young Kiera wiggled out of blanket quietly and pushed her clothes aside before she climbed over her dresser. She slowly opened the closet door and peered out into her room. Soft morning light was shining in through her window, making everything look calm and normal, as if two murders hadn't happened downstairs just the night before. She held her stuffed unicorn against her chest as she looked around, nervously._

 _Seeing her bedroom was empty, she turned toward the bedroom's open door. Again, Kiera's small bare feet didn't make any sound as she slowly stepped through the doorway. She peaked out into the hallway and saw her grandmother walking toward the stairs that led downstairs._

" _I can't find her, Officer! Do you think they could have taken her?" her grandmother's usually calm and sweet voice sped up as fear sunk in._

 _Kiera opened her mouth to announce she was behind her, but nothing came out. Panic started to take over Kiera's body. She opened her mouth and tried to speak again, but only a little squeak escaped. Kiera swallowed hard and tried again._

" _Gra-" her voice came out high and barely audible. Tears filled her eyes and she ran toward her grandmother. "Grammie!" she finally managed as she ran toward the only family she had left._

 _Kiera's grandmother turned when she heard her cry and relief washed over her face as she saw her granddaughter run towards her. She opened her arms and Kiera ran into them, burying her wet face into her grandmother's sweet-smelling dress. She felt the warm, inviting arms wrap around her and everything she'd been holding in all night suddenly came to the surface. Her grandmother alternated between gently rubbing her back, running her hand through her blonde hair and whispered soothing words to the girl who had just lost both her parents._

 _Little six-year-old Kiera cried and cried, making a spot on her grandmother's dress wet with tears. When there were no more tears, she felt warm hands gently move her face up to look at her grandmother's face. Kiera's red tearless eyes looked at her, fear still in her eyes even though she knew she was safe now. She held her unicorn toy to her chest, the animal giving her comfort as she tried to forget last night._

" _I'm so glad you're okay, My Little Angel," she whispered._

" _But mommy and daddy…"_

" _I know, Angel. I know." She rubbed Kiera's back._

" _Come. Let's get you some food and when you're up to it, we'll talk to this nice officer about what happened, okay, Angel?"_

 _Young Kiera glanced over at the man dressed in the Coast City blue uniform and badge. He smiled softly at her, showing genuine concern and sorrow._

 _Her grandmother took her hand, leading her downstairs and was about to turn towards the house's kitchen, when Kiera glanced over at the living room._

 _The front room was buzzing with activity, policemen where walking in and out and investigators were logging and bagging the evidence. Kiera saw two pieces of yellow tarp on the floor with pools of blood seeping into the carpet around them._

 _Young Kiera's eyes widened and she ran towards them, dodging officers and other crime scene personal as she went._

" _Mommy! Daddy!" she screamed as she finally made it. She stopped between the two covered bodies and look back and forth between them._

" _Kiera!"_

" _Miss! You don't want to look under there!"_

" _Please step away!"_

" _Angel! Please come here."_

" _Kiera! You don't want to see them like that!"_

 _Before anyone could get close enough, Kiera bent down and pulled back the first tarp and then the second. She fell to her knees as she stared at her parents' dead bodies._

" _Mommy? Daddy?" her voice came out as a whimper as she looked between her parents. They were sprawled out on the tan carpet, having landed that way when they fell back last night. One of the crime scene personal must have closed their eyes, because as Kiera looked at them, they looked like they could've been sleeping peacefully, that is if it weren't for the small red circular wound on each of their foreheads, blood trailing down the sides of their faces and the blood soaking into the carpet below them._

" _Wake up! Please!" little Kiera cried as she took their hands and buried her face in them._

" _Wake up… Please!… Wake up!... Mommy? Daddy?... Please?... Please!..."_

Kiera felt herself being pulled out of the vivid memory as Ruby withdrew from that memory. Emotions flooded into Kiera and tears trailed down her cheeks in streams. The memory was now fresh in her mind after years of trying to push it out. To Kiera it now seemed like her parents had died just yesterday and yet she remembered the months after their murders. She vaguely remembered being pulled away from her parents' dead bodies and carried to the kitchen, where her grandmother tried to calm her down and get her to eat. She remembered the nice police officer came and tried to ask her questions, but each one made her cry again and she only managed to tell him a few words of what saw. She remembered the officer came in later on and notified them that the living room was cleared that they were allowed to leave for the time being. Her grandmother took her to her house, even though the police offered them a safe house to live in until the case was solved. Her grandmother refused, saying Kiera should be living in a real home, somewhere she knew and felt safe. The police did guard her house day and night until the case was solved and the two men were arrested.

"Poor little Kiera," Ruby's mocking brought Kiera back to the room; to the torture chair she was strapped to, and to Barry, who was anxiously leaning against the glass door of his small cell.

Kiera squirmed under her restraints, but her body was now weak and surging with pain from her burns and cuts to move much. She glared at Ruby, who was standing over her with a wide smirk on her face.

Kiera took a deep breath and tried to recover from the memory she was forced to relive, but it was no use. Tears continued to stream down her face as flashes of her parents murders continued to plague her mind. She glared at Ruby, knowing she was the source of the sudden burst of emotions. Ruby hadn't just dug up the worst day in her life; she also played with her mind, like she had done earlier with the memory of the man in the fire.

"Get out of my mind!" Kiera screamed as she tried to shake her head, but the head restraints on the torture chair prevented her from moving even an inch.

Ruby chuckled. "What would be the fun in that? I'm sure I can find more goodies in that little brain of yours." She leaned down towards Kiera's face and smirked. "Should I show your little boyfriend your secrets you haven't let him know yet?" she whispered and turned her head to look at Barry, still caged in his glass cell. Ruby smirked at him as he looked between her and Kiera, wondering what was going on.

Kiera's eyes widened at Ruby's threat and she looked at Barry as her heart raced. She squirmed in the chair, trying desperately to get free.

Ruby turned her head back to look at Kiera and opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, there was a click and then static for a second before a raucous voice that sounded like it was over a radio spoke.

"Boss, we've got a problem." Then another click, like they were communicating through a two-way radio. Kiera guessed it was one of their security guards on the property. The guard's announcement made Ruby look over in Topaz's direction.

Kiera heard another, sharper click. "Is it urgent?" Kiera heard Topaz ask before another click.

"Yes, the police are here, Boss," the other voice answered before another click. Ruby straightened up and sighed. She nodded in Topaz's direction.

"We'll be right up," Topaz replied to the man.

Ruby turned to look at Kiera. "Looks like we'll have to continue this in a little bit. This won't take long" she said and smirked. "Don't move until we get back," she added, smirking, and glanced down at the restraints holding Kiera to the chair.

Kiera tried to glare at the villain before her, but her head was pounding like it was a drum, constantly being beaten in a constant rhythm. She closed her eyes quickly and gritted her teeth, trying to push the pain in her head and body out of her mind.

As she laid, tied to the chair, barely able to handle the agonizing pain, she heard faint talking coming from somewhere nearby and a door closing and locking, but was Kiera too focused on trying to ignore the pain, that she couldn't open her eyes to see what was going on. Images of her parents, dead on the living room floor flashed in her mind, along with an uncontrollable feeling of sadness and guilt; lingering torture left my Ruby's time in her mind. Kiera groaned and balled her hands into fists, so tight that her knuckles turned white, as she tried to push the images and feelings out of her mind, but Ruby's torture was still strong. Tears welled up in Kiera eyes as she watched her parents die over and over again. Her mind felt like it was in a washing machine, still spinning and throbbing with pain.

After what seemed like hours, Kiera heard another muffled voice, but she couldn't make out what it was saying. The voice did not stop, which caused Kiera's curiosity to take over. She struggled to open her eyes as the pounding pain in her head continued.

The voice was persistent and this time clearer and recognizable. "Kiera? Kiera? Can you hear me? You need to push those memories out of your head! You need to focus! I don't know how long we have, so we need to find a way out of here and fast!"

"Barry?" Kiera muttered and groaned as she tried to open her eyes again. She tried to move toward his voice, but was quickly reminded that she was tied down to the metal chair as the rough restraints dug into her skin and her injuries shooting fresh pain through her body. She gasped and relaxed back against the cold metal chair.

Kiera finally opened her eyes, squinting against the bright light overhead and saw Barry standing against the glass door of his cell, his right gloved hand and left bare hand pressed against it as he watched her, pain and misery obvious on his face.

"Barry?" she managed again as blinked back tears and tried to focus on him.

 _Are you okay?_ He asked, moving to talking to her mentally and then shook his head. _Of course you're not. I can feel the pain._ He frowned and touched the right side of his torso and his right shoulder.

 _Your arm doesn't look too good either._ Kiera replied, mentally as she saw Barry's burned arm glistening in the blue light above him. Blisters covered half of the bright red and darker red burns that wrapped around his bicep and lower arm. The heat Kiera felt on her uninjured left arm, confirmed that he was still in agonizing pain.

Images of her parents' murders and dead bodies continued to flash in Kiera's mind, residue left over from Ruby's mental torture. She closed her eyes tightly again as if to try to push the painful memories out of her head.

 _If we could get these dang dampening devices off and turn the one above me off, then we'd heal faster._ Barry said, trying to distract her as he tugged on his headgear and looked up at the blue light above his cell.

 _But we don't have our powers. How will we get them off?_ Kiera sighed as she slowly opened her eyes once the images faded. She looked down at the two long cuts across her lower arm. Her movement caused blood to trickle down her arm again, warm against the goose bumps on her skin. Even though they was superficial, Ruby was right; they stung worse than she'd ever felt before. Kiera inhaled sharply through her teeth and tried to push the pain from her mind, but her head pounded from the mental and physical torture and it wasn't responding to her wishes.

 _I can't move, Barry. I can't…_ Kiera managed and closed her eyes again. _I-_ She stopped when she heard a low buzzing noise coming from her left. At first she wasn't sure if she imagined it or if it was just the buzzing noise coming from the power dampening devices above the cells in front of her, but then she heard another voice.

"Are you guys okay? What happened?!"

"Cisco?" she heard Barry ask. Her eyes opened quickly and saw the small drone hovering in the air to her left.

The sound of radio static thundered in Kiera's ear, making her gasp as her head pounded even harder in response. Cisco was talking to them through their long-forgotten earpieces.

"Sorry… connection isn't too good down there… working on it," Cisco apologized in their earpieces.

"Down here? Where are we? How did you find us? I thought the drone was destroyed when that electricity hit it. We couldn't hear you after that," Barry rambled quickly as he stepped to the other side of his cell to get a closer look at the drone in front of his cell.

"You're… mansion's safe room… took a while to get it working again… luckily… wasn't damaged too… on our end…. able to track the radio signal between Topaz and the guards… found out where they were keeping you… snuck the drone in when they opened the door…" Cisco explained, though the connection cut in and out and Barry and Kiera were only able to hear bits and pieces.

"We'll explain… after we… out of there!" Caitlin added.

"Right. Can you jam the signals coming from the devices?" Barry pointed up at the power-dampening device up his cell and the tech on his head for the camera on the drone to see.

The drone moved up toward the top of Barry's cell. "I should be able… Let's…" Cisco said. There was a pause and then he added, "Looks like… altered them. Hang on… I'll try something."

"We need to hurry! They could come back at any minute!"

A minute later, there was a click and the blue light above Barry's cell flickered off and then the lights on their headpieces also turned off. Barry immediately raised his gloved hand and it started to move, quickly growing in speed, until it was just a blur. He grinned, seeing powers were back. He stepped forward as he focused on the glass wall before him. Barry phased through the cell's wall easily and looked over at Kiera. He sped to her and in only a second, he untied all of the restraints holding her to the chair.

"Come on, Kiera. Let's get out of here," Barry whispered as he slowly helped her up. She groaned as pain shot through her body every time she moved an inch. It took several minutes, but Kiera finally got out of the chair.

Once Kiera was standing, he wrapped his arm around her waist, careful not to touch any of the reddening burns on her stomach.

"Let's get these off," Barry muttered and raised his blurring hand to her metal headpiece. Once his hand phased through one of thin metal bars, the headpiece broke and fell off her head. He caught it and threw it across the room, before removing his own headpiece.

"Let's g-" Before Barry could finish, they heard the sound of the room's door unlocking.

"They're back," he muttered and turned his head toward the door. "Stay here," he whispered to Kiera and helped her sit on the stool Ruby was sitting in earlier. Once she was as comfortable as she could be, Barry sped to the door, ready to attack once it opened.

Kiera struggled to keep her eyes open as flashbacks continued to plague her mind, causing tears to continue to fall. She slowly turned the stool toward the table on her left, wincing as the movement caused more pain. For the first time, she was able to see what Ruby had on the metal table. She saw a dozen different knives, differing in size, shape and length, some other oddly shaped tools, her compacted shield, the syringes of Barry's blood and syringes of the drug Caitlin gave her to make her enemies relax to the point of almost sleeping quickly. She also saw her discarded mask lying on the floor several feet away from where she sat. Kiera lowered her hand toward the mask and focused on making it fly into her hand. It took her longer than normal, but eventually the grey and silver mask was in her hand. She smiled slightly at her small success.

The sound of the door opening brought Kiera back to their current situation. She quickly slipped her mask into one of the pouches on her hip. She looked up in time to see Barry blur into a streak of lightning and suddenly Topaz and Ruby were flying toward the dark wall to their left.

"How did you get out?!" Ruby screamed angrily as she stood back up.

"Magic!" Barry teased as he stopped a few feet away.

Ruby narrowed her eyes and outstretched her arm at him, this time it was Barry who flew against the opposite wall.

"No!" Kiera managed and stood up. Her head pounded in protest and her legs wobbled, making her grab the edge of the table to stay upright.

"What are you going to do to save your boyfriend, Kiera?" Ruby teased and smirked. "You can barely stand after only the beginning part of our 'session' together. I've tortured old men who've lasted longer than you!" She laughed.

 _Don't listen to her! She's just trying to mess with you._ Barry told her, mentally as he struggled to stand up.

Kiera looked up from staring at her hand clenching the table, her eyes murderous as they glared at her nemesis.

"Oh look! Little Kiera's doing the classic 'Anakin' glare!" Ruby mocked and laughed.

 _I'll get the tablet. Get to the door!_ Barry told Kiera, trying to distract her and remind her of their goal.

Kiera nodded at Barry and he blurred into a streak of lightning, taking the tablet from Topaz's hand and tapping its screen. The door the two villains had just come through unlocked and Kiera stepped forward. Her head started to pound again and her body surging with fresh pain.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Ruby shouted and lunged forward, making herself fly over to Kiera. Before Kiera could move, Ruby kicked her square in the chest, sending Kiera flying backwards and slamming into the ground. She let out a scream as shooting pain spread over her body. Ruby landed and smirked as she watched her nemesis groan and struggle to get up.

 _Kiera, get up! Come on, I know you can do it!_ Barry encouraged as he watched. When he didn't get a response, he stepped forward to run to her, but before he could something crackled as it flew past his head. He looked over in time to see a ball of fire explode against the wall. He whipped his head around towards Topaz and ran towards him.

Kiera winced as she struggled to stand up. The burns on her shoulder and torso felt like they were on fire again and the cuts on her arm opened up, fresh blood dripping down her arm. She sat up slowly and reached for the end of the nearby table. As Kiera opened her eyes, she saw Ruby stepping forward to try and kick her again. With outstretched her freehand and mentally sent the villain flying backwards. Ruby's back slammed into one of the cages and she let out a groan as she fell to the ground. It gave Kiera a minute to recover; she stood up as quickly as she could and looked over to see Barry and Topaz fighting; Fire and lightning flying around that side of the room as they went.

Kiera heard Ruby struggle to stand and she glanced at the table of torture tools and her belongings that Ruby had taken from her suit's pockets. She quickly grabbed the compacted shield and slipped it into her one of her suit's hip pouches. Kiera leaned forward to grab the syringes of blood and Phenobarbital drug, but before she could she felt something hard slam into the backs of her knees. She screamed in pain as her legs collapsed and she fell to the floor. She twisted around and saw Ruby standing over her.

"Now will you be a good little girl and return to your cell or will I have to do it for you?"

Kiera narrowed her eyes, the movement sending needle-like pain behind her eyes. She groaned and closed her eyes as she pressed her palms into them to try and stop the pain. As the pain subsided, she opened them and glared up at Ruby. Kiera reached up and grabbed onto the edge of the table again, pulling herself up slowly. Seeing the syringes again, she knew the drug could help her defeat Ruby. She leaned forward quickly and grabbed one of the syringes of the clear drug, before spinning around to face her nemesis.

Ruby laughed as she watched the struggling woman in front of her. Kiera tried to lunge forward, her legs almost giving out as she jumped toward the villain, the syringe in hand. Ruby easily stepped out of Kiera's way, causing her to land and stumble forward. She turned around and tried again.

This time Ruby grabbed Kiera's wrist and squeezed. Kiera cried out in pain and was forced to loosen her grip on the syringe. The small plastic container of clear liquid fell from her hand and smashed into the ground at their feet, breaking into tiny pieces and spraying the liquid onto their boots.

"No!" Kiera shouted. She looked up at Ruby, who was smirking at her, and took out the second syringe of the sleeping drug. This was her last chance to defeat Ruby without any blood, injury or lose of life. The two arch nemeses stared at each other, waiting for other to make a move.

Finally after a couple minutes, Kiera grew impatient and lunged forward, the syringe raised beside her. Ruby dodged her attack again and moved back behind her. Before Kiera had time to react, Ruby pulled her injured right arm behind her back and slammed her down onto the metal table. Kiera let out a scream, causing Barry to stop his attack and look over as the pain travelled up his own arm.

"Kiera!" he shouted and ran towards the two women, but Topaz grabbed a hold of his good arm and yanked him backwards. The force sent Barry crashing to the floor in a groan.

Ruby took a hold of Kiera's other arm as she pinned her against the table, and slammed it into an empty part of the table. The forced move made Kiera lose her grip on the syringe and it shattered on the metal surface beside her, the clear liquid splashing the table and Kiera's arm.

Kiera gasped and gritted her teeth as she watched the drug pool into a tiny pond on the table. Her last hope of subduing Ruby was gone. She let out a cry as she desperately tried to push back against the other woman. Without even thinking about it, her powers kicked in and she telekinetically pushed Ruby off, sending her flying across the room towards Barry and Topaz. Kiera stood up straight, breathing hard from the effort and quickly grabbed onto the edge of the table as her head spun.

Ruby groaned and quickly got up, glaring over at Kiera as she stood beside Topaz. She stepped forward, arms up as if she were ready for a fight.

 _Let's finish this and get out of here._ Barry said as he watched the villains ready themselves for a fight. He glanced over at Kiera before he blurred into a streak and ran towards Topaz and Ruby.

 _Wait!_ Kiera mentally screamed, but he was already running toward the villains.

Kiera looked over in time to see Ruby raise her hand to try and stop him.

"No!" she screamed out loud, knowing what Ruby was going to do. Rage took over Kiera's mind and before she knew what she was doing, the knives on the table beside her flew through the air, straight for Ruby.

Everything happened so fast, that it made Kiera's head spin even more and she leaned against the table as she tried to recover. She blinked and suddenly Topaz was jumping out in front of Ruby, shielding her from the knives. Instead of hitting their target, Ruby, the knives stuck into Topaz's chest and arms. He fell to the floor, groaning as he landed. Ruby heard and turned to see him lying on the floor with bloody knives sticking out of him. She quickly looked up at Kiera, shocked and knelt down beside her partner.

"No! My love!" she cried out and placed his head in her lap. Topaz opened his mouth to speak, but instead choked on his own blood.

Kiera stared at the scene before her, stunned. It started to sink in that there was a dying man on the floor and she was the one was going to be responsible if he died.

 _Kiera? You okay?_ Barry asked, his eyes wide. He had skidded to a stop when he saw the knives fly towards Ruby in slow motion.

Kiera nodded slowly. _Get me out of here._ She said mentally as her legs started to give out from under her.

Barry nodded "We're heading out now," he said to Cisco and Caitlin before he sped towards her, catching her before she could fall. He grabbed the drone that had been hovering in a corner and ran to the unlocked door.

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE:** **And as always, if you have any questions or suggestions, please include them in your review or send me a PM. I love to hear your feedback. Thank you! (:**


	29. Chapter 29

**WRITER'S NOTE: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!**

 **I apologize again for making you wait so long for this chapter! Unforseen personal things came up, the holidays came out of nowhere, and this chapter took longer to write than I thought! I am soooooooo sorry for not getting this done sooner.**

 **So as a late Christmas present, here is the eagerly awaited chapter:**

* * *

Bullets started flying a second after Flash exited the mansion. He dodged them easily as he carried Kiera and the drone away from the place that had held them captive for who knows how long. He noticed the sun was setting over Central City's skyline in the distance and guessed they must have been down in that safe room at least thirty hours.

Seeing the dozens of armed guards starting to surround him, Flash ran behind a separated garage nearby. He carefully set Kiera down against its back wall and placed the drone on the ground beside her.

 _Stay here. I'll be right back._ Barry said mentally to Kiera as he pulled his mask over his head and then ran off back to the guards. Flash sped around the guards in a matter of seconds before stopping several feet from them, a big grin on his face. The guards looked down at their hands and realized their guns had disappeared. They looked back up at the Flash, stunned.

"Looking for these?" Flash asked as he held up their stolen weapons against his chest with his right arm.

The guards instinctively went for their secondary handguns hidden in the back of their belts.

"Got those too!" Flash grinned and showed the handguns on top of the pile held up by his arm. Before the guards could react, Flash sped off to dispose of the guns and came back to the guards. The guards started to disappear, one by one, until the lawn was empty and they were locked in an upstairs room of the mansion. Flash then sped back to where he left Kiera. He winced as his burned left arm reacted to all activity he had done so far. He quickly turned his attention to Kiera.

She was curled up against the garage's wall, her palms were pressed against her forehead and her eyes were closed tightly, a clear message about how much pain she was in. Her breathing hitched as she tried to block the repeated mental attacks Ruby had set up in her mind during the torture, along with the continuous images of her dead and dying parents to break her.

"Make it stop!" Kiera screamed.

"Kiera's vitals are spiking! She can't take much more of this before permanent brain damage," Caitlin said in Barry's ear. "Whatever Ruby is doing it's lighting her brain up like a Christmas tree!" she said as she watched live readings of Kiera's mental activity.

"I'll try to reach her," Barry whispered as he kneeled down in front of her and gently placed his hand on Kiera's good shoulder.

 _Kiera? Kiera, can you hear me?_ He asked her mentally. When he got no response he realized the mental torture might be making it hard for Kiera to focus on anything else in her mind,

"Kiera?" he whispered, this time audible. "Focus on my voice, nothing else. I'm right here. Just focus on me. Can you do that?"

Kiera shook her head and winced as the movement made her head pound even harder. "No! It's too much! I can't stop it. I can't stop seeing _them_ …."

"I know you can do this, Kiera. Focus on my voice. Try," he whispered. "Tune everything else out. Focus on just my voice."

Kiera balled her fists and pressed them against her eyes as she tried to do what Barry had suggested. Every time she tried to ignore the pounding and memory of that day, her mind would spin and the pain would come back even worse.

Barry frowned as he felt some of the pain and discouragement, realizing Ruby had done far worse than he'd thought. Coming up with a new idea, he smiled and leaned in. He gently pulled her hands down off her face and kissed her softly.

Kiera instantly softened and returned the kiss, distracted from the torture going on in her mind. Barry pulled away after the kiss and grinned widely when he saw her open her eyes.

"Were you trying to be Prince Charming and wake me up for a curse?" Kiera asked, chuckling.

"Yeah, something like that," Barry admitted and grinned.

Kiera laughed and shook her head, the pain and pounding starting to subside. She looked around, finally realizing she was outside of the mansion. Now that they were outside and visible to neighbors or security, she realized she should become Telegirl once more and not the 'damaged Kiera' Ruby had tortured in that safe room. She pulled out her mask, which she had managed to put in one of her suit's hip pouches during their escape attempt in the safe room.

"Come on, we need to get going before they recover and come after us," Barry whispered as he stood up and offered his good arm down to help her up.

Kiera took his hand, using her good arm and tried to stand up. A small gasp escaped her lips and she fell back toward the ground behind the separate garage. Pain radiated from her wounds, burns and overall fatigued mind and body, causing her head to spin again.

Barry quickly helped her rest back onto the ground and looked into the pouch at her hip that was designated for the syringes of his blood.

"Where are the syringes?" he asked as he looked inside to see the pouch was empty.

"I must have forgotten to grab them before we hurried out," Kiera managed as she closed her eyes shut, trying to push out the pain again.

"I'll go get them," Barry said and stood up.

"What?!" Kiera asked as her eyes shot open. "No! You can't! _She's_ down there. She'll capture you again!"

"I agree, it's too risky," Cisco chimed in as the two scientists looked at each other, worried.

"Ruby won't even know I was there. I can be in and out in a second," Barry defended.

Kiera shook her head as much as she could, but even the small effort made her head spin again. "She'll know and will use her Telekinesis to stop you, Barry. You can't go down there."

"Just carry Kiera back here! It will be a quick trip." Caitlin added. "Then I can help Kiera recover."

"I have to go down there. Kiera's too weak and in too much pain to move," Barry explained, sensing her pain through their connection.

Kiera sighed and closed her eyes as she tried to think. "Fine. I think distract her."

"How? You can't even stand, Kiera!" Barry exclaimed.

"Don't worry about me. I think I know a way. Now get ready to go when I tell you. I'll probably only be able to distract her for a few seconds."

Barry watched her for a moment, knowing how much pain she was in and knowing some of what Ruby did to her. He knew he could trust her, but he wasn't sure if she could undergo any more abuse or handle using her powers again. He gave in, knowing they didn't have much of a choice and nodded slowly. "Fine. That's more than enough time."

"Are you seriously going to do this?!" Cisco asked in their ears. They didn't respond and he threw his hands in the air. "Fine, don't go crying to me, Barry, when she gets in your head and messes with it!"

Barry took a deep breath and stepped forward, positioned himself so he was prepared to run the instant Kiera told him to.

Seeing he was ready, Kiera closed her eyes and tried to focus in on Ruby's distracted mind. Finally finding what she was looking for, Kiera entered the villain's mind.

"Go! Go now!" Kiera shouted to Barry and then focused on 'Brain Blasting' Ruby like she had done earlier. As Kiera dove deeper into Ruby's mind she felt some of the intense emotions Ruby was experiencing; rage, grief, and confusion. Kiera took advantage of the situation as Ruby was distracted by her emotions and her mental attack. She pulled information, which was much more difficult than normal with her pounding head, but Kiera managed to grab onto a small amount of information.

Kiera's eyes opened wide as she found a certain piece of information.

Barry, who had successfully returned a couple seconds before with the syringes, kneeled down before her.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he uncapped the three syringes.

"Huh…?" Kiera glanced around and quickly realized where she was again. "Oh, uh yeah. I mean, I think so." She looked up at him confused, but then her face turned serious. "I know Ruby's real name."

"You found out her real name while you were in her mind?" Barry asked and Kiera nodded.

"Seriously?" Cisco asked. "What is it?"

Without saying anything, Barry motioned to the syringes in his hand, telling Kiera he was going to give them to her. She nodded and turned slightly, so he could reach her good arm.

In a blur of red and yellow, Barry dispensed the syringes' blood into Kiera's arm in only a second and then stored the now empty syringes in Kiera's hip pocket. Kiera barely felt a thing and leaned her head back against the garage's wall as she waited for his blood to help her recover.

"What's her name?" he asked as he looked up.

Kiera opened her mouth to answer, but the sound of guns firing, bullets flying and one of the garage's other walls being blown apart by bullets stopped her.

"We need to get out of here!" Barry shouted over the noise. Kiera nodded as she picked up the drone that was still sitting beside her. Flash carefully picked her up, trying not to cause too much pain for both of them and ran out into the chaotic scene. He easily dodged the flying bullets and ran past the escaped guards and their new guns. Yellow lightning crackled above the street's asphalt as Barry ran out of the gated community and headed towards Central City. Kiera clung to his neck, her eyes tightly closed as she tried to force Ruby's torture that still lingered out of her mind.

Suddenly she felt a chill down her spine and knew exactly what it meant.

Ruby was following them.

 _She's coming! And fast!_ Kiera mentally told Barry.

 _Good. Then we can lead her to S.T.A.R. Labs, where we can figure out a plan to capture her again._ Barry replied as he ran.

"Caitlin, Cisco, we're heading your way. Caitlin can you get more Phenobarbital syringes ready? Cisco can you get a cell ready?" Barry asked the team back at the Lab.

"On it!" They replied together into their earpieces.

Kiera opened her eyes in time to see the world around them slow down. It almost looked like a ship slowing down from the speed of light in a Sci-Fi movie; the sudden movement made her head spin again.

 _Why are you stopping? We're not there yet._ Kiera asked as she looked around at the tall warehouse buildings looming above them. She caught a glimpse of the harbor on the other end of streets they passed.

 _I'm not._ Barry frowned and looked down at his feet. _It's like I'm running in molasses._

Kiera looked over Barry shoulder and saw the outline of a slender form descend from the darkening sky about fifty yards from them. Her hand was outstretched toward them and even though the buildings cast shadows upon them as the sun set over Central City, Kiera knew it was Ruby and the villain was smirking like a cat that had just trapped a mouse and was ready to go in for the kill.

 _Let me down._ Kiera told Barry, mentally as she let go of his neck.

 _But you're too weak, Kiera. You can hardly stand. You can't fight her like this!_

 _Your blood is already starting to work._ Kiera insisted. Barry sighed after watching her for a few seconds. He gently set her down on her feet beside him and they turned around to face at Ruby.

"Ruby! I didn't mean to hit him! I didn't mean to hurt Topaz! He put himself between you and the daggers I threw at you before I could even react!" Kiera shouted at Ruby, who was now standing about forty feet from them, as still as a statue.

Kiera thought her words would help Ruby understand, even just slightly, but she was gravely mistaken.

Ruby quickly extended her right arm toward them and before Kiera could counter the attack, they were both sent backwards into the building looming behind them. The large glass windows shattered around them as they flew into the warehouse's second story and then landed in piles of empty boxes.

Their groans echoed through the warehouse's open second floor. Barry was the first to move. He struggled to get up from the flattened boxes that had broken their fall. His burned arm felt like it was on fire and the fall had caused the burned skin to tear and bleed, his back was also sore from the landing and his whole body ached from the fall, but he did not give up. After a couple minutes of trying and attempting to ignore the pain, Flash finally sat up. He looked around and saw that they were not alone in the warehouse. Having stopped what they were working on, a handful of workers were staring back at him. His first thought went to his mask and he put his hand to his temple. Feeling the leather-like red material, Barry felt somewhat relieved, knowing his secret identity was still a secret. A woman's pained groan brought the Flash back to the situation at hand.

He carefully stood up on the unstable new cardboard floor as quickly as he could and glanced around the large pile of boxes he was in the middle of, scanning for any sign of Kiera.

"Help me find Telegirl! Please!" He pleaded to the people around him as he tried to make his way across the damaged boxes toward where he thought he heard the groan come from. The men and women, scattered around the large room- some in forklifts that were frozen in the middle of lifting or lowering boxes, a couple were supervising and others were sorting through and inventorying items- all dropped what they were doing when they realized they were looking at their city's hero and he needed their help.

 _Kiera? Can you hear me?!_ Barry asked her mentally as he stepped over damaged piles of what were once empty boxes. _I'm coming!_

 _Yeah…_ A response and an audible faint groan steered Barry in her direction. _I think I might have broken a rib or two._

 _Don't move! I'm coming!_ He moved boxes out of his way as he carefully stepped on the crushed and damaged boxes.

"Over here!" A man shouted from the other side of the pile. Flash saw him wave him over and then kneel down as he looked at something hidden from Flash's view.

Barry's mind raced faster than his feet as he tried to differentiate between the pain he was feeling from his own injuries and Kiera's injuries to see how badly she'd been injured from the fall.

Barry jumped down from the pile and reached the man in under a second. The others, who had just arrived at different parts of the damaged pile, soon followed to help.

At first all Barry saw was Kiera's messy blonde hair spread out over the flattened cardboard boxes. He began pulling the deformed boxes out of the way with the man helping, so they could reach her. Soon Telegirl came into view, spread out over the cardboard, not daring to move and find out just what she had broken. The deepened cuts on her arm, which were starting to heal thanks to Barry's blood, had opened again and left a small pool of blood soaking into the broken boxes below her. Her burned and cut right arm was bent as she rested her hand on her luckily not burned side, where she guessed she cracked a rib. Her torso was bare, from Ruby's cutting of her suit so she could burn her right side.

"Can you get up? I'll carry you out of here-" Barry asked aloud.

 _No. Get them out first before she gets here, then come get me._

 _Kiera… She could be here any second…._ Barry insisted.

 _I can't allow anyone else to get hurt because she's after us… after me! Get them out of here! Please!_ Kiera begged as she looked at him with small tears in her eyes.

Barry tilted his head slightly, his eyes showing his conflicting thoughts and responsibilities. He felt her pain, but he also felt her emotions. Her fear of Ruby, but more so her fear that Ruby would kill or harm others just to torture her.

 _Do it. Please!_

Barry frowned and vanished in a streak of yellow lightning, moving as fast as possible. He took out the others one by one and placed them a block away before taking others he found downstairs and returning to Kiera in only couple minutes.

 _Your turn._ Barry told her as he knelt down in front of her. She looked up at him; relieved everyone else was safe. Kiera slowly used her uninjured left arm to try and sit up. Barry carefully tried to help her up without pulling too hard and aggravating her painful ribs. Kiera's breath hitched and she winced at the pain it caused just to move a couple inches, but continued to slowly sit up.

 _Come on. You can do it._ He encouraged her as he felt the pain in his own ribs. _We'll be safe once I get us back to S.T.A.R. Labs._ He promised, even though they both knew it wasn't true.

After a couple minutes, Kiera was finally on her feet and was supported by Barry as she stepped off the pile of cardboard.

A loud click echoed through the vast room and suddenly the now deserted warehouse went dark.

 _What was that?_ Kiera asked as she tried to look around the darkened room. Only faint sunlight from the sunset outside shone through the building's back windows, barely lighting a small part of the large room in an orange glow.

 _I don't think we want to find out._ Barry replied mentally as he gently picked Kiera up. He was about to step forward and run out of the building when his body froze again. He tried to move, but it felt like he was stuck in concrete again.

 _She's here_. Kiera said mentally as she looked around, also frozen in Barry's arms.

 _That's right._ Ruby's eerily calm voice said in their minds as she stepped out of the shadows into the dim light, the heroes only seeing her dark silhouette against the city's skyline that welcomed the dusk. "And you two have lived long enough!" she shouted out loud as they saw her flick her wrist down.

The floor below Flash's feet started to crumble and unable to do anything else, they started to plummeted through the floor and down towards the warehouse's first story.

They cried out as they to fall and in a matter of seconds Barry landed on his back on the carpeted floor, still holding Kiera on top of him. The impact made a low groan escape Barry's lips and Kiera gasped as even though he cushioned her fall, her cracked rib then broke in two.

Kiera was the first to open her eyes, but it didn't help any, as the room they fell into was in complete darkness. Kiera looked up and saw the hole they fell through, the dusk lighting created only a dim spotlight on them. She was expecting to see Ruby looking down at them, but she didn't see anything above the hole, expect for the second floor's dark ceiling.

Realizing she was still on Barry, Kiera carefully rolled off and groaned as she landed on hard floor beside him. Unable to move due to the intense pain radiating through her body from her various injuries, she just turned her head to look at Barry.

 _Barry? Are you okay?_ This time it was Kiera's turn to mentally check for his injuries by using the phantom connection pains in her own body.

A low groan told Kiera he was conscious at least. She tried to sit up, but her body protested with fresh pain and soreness. She winced and continued to try, knowing they needed to get up so they could get away from whatever Ruby had planned.

 _Barry?_

 _I'm okay._ _I think I broke some ribs too and my back is sore._ Barry managed as he lifted his burned left arm to see the fragile dark red skin had been torn even more and fresh blood was trailing down the second and third degree burns that still felt like they were ablaze. He groaned loudly as he lowered his injured arm and lifted his other hand to adjust his mask, which had shifted over one eye in the fall. Now able to see more clearly, he stared up at the hole they had just fallen through.

Kiera sighed. _We're a sight!_

Barry and Kiera laughed, but quickly stopped when it caused their broken ribs to shift and pull apart. They both groaned and rested their heads back on the carpeted floor to recover.

After a minute, they finally managed to sit up and tried to look around, but the whole room was still in almost complete darkness.

"Cisco? Caitlin? Are you guys still there? Can you hear us?" Barry whispered when he remembered their friends were getting the lab ready for Ruby's capture.

"Yeah we're here? Are you two okay?" Caitlin's voice asked in their ears.

"We could be worse," Barry replied with a frown. He was about to say more when he sensed Kiera sensed something wrong.

"What is it?" He turned his head to look at her.

"We need to get out of here,"Kiera whispered as she stared off into the darkness on the other side of Barry.

 _Barry… We need to go… NOW!_ She managed when she sensed something suddenly coming towards them. It could only be one person- Ruby. As she felt Ruby run toward them, she quickly pulled open the pocket in her suit that contained her shield. The sudden fear made adrenaline pump through Kiera's body, causing her powers to react and strengthen back to how they were before Ruby's torture.

Kiera's shield flew from the pouch at her hip and opened in mid air, stopping at Barry's left just in time to block Ruby's punch from finding its mark. Ruby screamed in frustration, which caused Barry to look over for any sign of the villain, but all he saw were pitch-black shadows surrounding them.

Telegirl smirked at her success and extended her arms out in front of her, flicking her wrists, which caused the shield to fly forward and slam into Ruby, knocking her back further into the shadows.

 _Do you think you can get up?_ Kiera asked Barry, mentally as she tried to ignore the pain from the fiery burns on her shoulder and stomach, the shallow cuts on her arms, the soreness and exhaustion that riddled her body and the broken rib on top of Barry's injuries. She struggled to stand up herself and had to use her powers to assist herself. Kiera lowered her good arm down to help Barry up and he reached up to take it.

Before Barry could get a hold of Kiera's hand, she heard Ruby grunt and Kiera quickly lowered herself in time to avoid Ruby's punch. Kiera gasped as the sudden movements made her broken rib shift. She placed her hand over her left ribs and focused on making her shield stop between them again to protect them while they got back up. Telegirl slowly stood up again and glared into the shadows where her enemy lurked on the other side of her floating shield.

"What are you waiting for, _Telegirl_?" Ruby's voice mocked from the darkness.

Kiera's eyes narrowed as anger started to surface again and before Barry could stop her, she outstretched her unharmed hand. Without being able to see what was around them, Kiera just focused on the closest item she could feel.

A whooshing sound made Barry look behind Kiera, who was now standing beside where he sat. Wind blew Kiera's disheveled hair forward as something large flew past her right shoulder and into the darkness ahead. A few seconds later the sound of something crashing and Ruby's startled and pained shout filled the air.

 _Come on! We only have a minute or two before she recovers._ Kiera mentally said to Barry as she brought the shield back to Barry's side to protect them incase Ruby recovered before they could move. Kiera lowered her arm again, pushing past the pain that every movement caused. The fear of getting caught by Ruby again was far worse than her body's current condition. Barry gritted his teeth and also tried to ignore the pain as he stood up with her help.

 _I don't think I can run._ Barry admitted as he cradled his broken ribs and his burned and bleeding arm, which had already started to heal.

 _I can get us out of here then._

Barry turned to Kiera even though they could hardly see each other in the diminished spotlight from the hole above their heads. _Are you sure you can after what she did to your mind?_

Kiera nodded, trying to convince him and herself at the same time.

 _Trust me. I'm feeling a lot better - mentally at least._ Without waiting for a reply, Kiera closed her eyes, focusing on making her shield collapse and return to her hand. She slipped it in her suit's pocket before focusing on making them float up into the air. She had to push all of the pain out of her mind and focus solely on using her Telekinesis to get them out of the dark warehouse.

A minute later, their feet left the ground and they rose up into the pale sunbeam that shone down through the second floor's hole. Only a few seconds later they were on the second floor and gained speed as Telegirl had them float toward the broken window they had crashed into on the way into the warehouse.

"Caitlin, Cisco, we're coming back," Barry told the team waiting for them at S.T.A.R. Labs.

"You defeated her already?" Caitlin voice asked in their ears.

"Not exactly." Barry glanced back at the hole. "But hopefully enough to give us time to get out of here."

The two heroes flew out of the warehouse and Kiera had them ascend above the warehouses as they headed in the direction of the lab.

Barry watched the buildings below them fly by as they accelerated. Night had fallen across Central City and the buildings' lights, streetlights, and the many cars speeding along down below cast a warm glow that lit the city like a Christmas tree. Barry couldn't help, but smile as he watched his beloved city. He'd never get used to its beauty.

Kiera's scream of pain brought him back to moment and he turned his head quickly to see her hands pressed against the sides of her head.

 _Kiera? What's wrong?_ Barry asked mentally as he alternated between looking at her and looking down at the traffic filled streets far below them. _Kiera?!_

Seeing that she wasn't responded, Barry decided to try talking to her out loud. "Kiera? What's wrong?"

Kiera hissed at the pain in her head, trying to keep her focus on making their bodies float above the city. She managed two words. "Brain… Blast!"

Barry's eyes widened and he looked behind them, knowing such an attack could only come from one person. Not able to see if Ruby was behind them in the night sky he turned his head back to Kiera.

"Do you think you can get us to the building only a few feet to your left?" he asked mentally as he saw a skyscraper coming up beside them.

"I'll try…"Kiera managed mentally before another scream escaped her lips. Her mind was starting to feel like it would explode as Ruby continued to overload it. Kiera took a deep breath as she tried her best to push this new pain away and get them to the roof before she lost control or passed out.

They started to gain speed again, but this time it was sideways toward the building's roof. Barry held his breath as he watched it approach.

"Good. You're doing great,"he encouraged and then looked behind them for any sign of Ruby Siren.

Suddenly everything happened in slow motion as Barry saw Ruby come into view behind them. The city's lights illuminated the red on her suit and lips and cast an eerily shadows on her face making her look even angrier than he remembered. The villain flicked her wrist as she hovered in the air several feet behind them.

"No!" Flash screamed as he realized what she was going to do. In mid air he tried his best to dive toward Kiera, whose face was starting to pale from the pain and beads of sweat had appeared on her face as she tried as best she could to focus.

Flash's arms wrapped around Kiera as they started to fall toward the busy street below. The skyscraper's roof rose beside them and within seconds they were starting to descend down the side of the building.

Thinking fast, Barry spun his free arm into tight circles at his side and lightning sparked in a spiral as a funnel cloud started to form; the trick Flash had done several times before made them float up towards the building's roof.

Kiera groaned as her head continued to pound and images of her parents' murders and Kiera and Barry's times in the torture chair replayed over and over in her mind. Her eyes were shut tight as she tried to fight the pain and images, making her unaware of what was going on.

They slowly rose a few feet above the roof and Barry was going to try to lower them onto it when Ruby broke through Kiera's weakening protection of his mind and was finally able to Brain Blast him also. The sudden pain caused Barry to loose focus and again they fell.

A groan left Kiera's lips as she hit the roof; the sudden physical pain distracted her from Ruby's mental torture and she opened her eyes to see a vast night sky above her. Momentarily forgetting where she was and why she was there, she turned her head and managed to weakly call out, "Barry?"

A dark scarlet form lay motionless beside Kiera; seeing it she frantically reached out for him as she called again in a hoarse voice, "Barry?! Talk to m-"

Before she could finish and attempt to reach him, a heeled black boot forced her uninjured outreaching arm against the concrete roof causing Kiera to scream in pain. She looked up to see Ruby Siren standing above her, donning her full skintight suit and mask, complete with her usual wide red smirk.

"Oh no you don't! He's-" she paused and tilted her head as she looked over at Flash as if trying find the right words. "-getting some beauty sleep at the moment." Her smirk returned and she looked back down at her nemesis.

Telegirl clenched her jaw as she looked up at the villain standing above her. She turned her head to look at Barry's still body before she moved her loose, injured arm up and outstretched her fingers toward Ruby. Kiera's mind didn't get much time to focus on what she wanted to do as anger boiled inside of her. Ruby suddenly flew backwards until she collided with one of the roof's air ventilators and fell to the concrete roof.

The attack gave Kiera time to push herself up and kneel before Barry.

"Barry?" she whispered as she pushed him onto his back. _Barry?! Can you hear me?_

No response.

Kiera tried to sense something, anything, through their connection that could tell her Barry was okay.

"Caitlin? Cisco?" Kiera said louder, over the wind blowing over the skyscraper's roof and the noises of the city below. "Are you guys still there? Barry's unconscious, I think. I can't reach him mentally," She paused and waited for a response, but none came. All she heard was faint static through her earpiece.

"Great! We're on our own," she muttered under her breath as she pulled out her earpiece and threw it onto the ground, frustrated. Kiera looked back at Barry, as emotions started to overwhelm her.

 _Barry? Don't make me do this alone! Cisco and Caitlin can't help now either. I can't fight her by myself!_ Kiera practically screamed mentally as she watched him remain motionless, even after she called out to him mentally. Kiera glanced over in Ruby's direction and saw she was still on the floor, struggling to collect herself and return to fight. Kiera looked back at Barry and placed two fingers on his wrist, trying to find a heartbeat. Finally she found a slow steady heartbeat and sighed in relief.

 _Come back to me, Barry! I need your help!_ She pleaded as tears started to fall down her mask and onto her cheeks. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement and looked up in time to see Ruby getting back on her feet, now looking madder than ever.

Kiera wiped the tears away and mentally cried out to Barry one last time before she stood up slowly, careful to avoid disturbing her injuries as best she could. Kiera felt exhausted from the earlier torture, their escape, her fight with Ruby, 'Brain Blasting' Ruby, and using her powers to fly her and Barry away from her.

Telegirl tried to get in a ready position without causing more pain to her battered, burned and wounded body.

Ruby steadied herself on her feet and then ran toward her, using her Telekinesis to push herself along faster toward Telegirl. The villain's face distorted in anger and she cried out in rage as she balled her hands into fists, ready to fight her enemy.

Kiera also extended her uninjured arm, but instead of forming a fist; she stretched her hand out and tried to concentrate on pushing Ruby back like she did before.

Nothing happened. Kiera watched shocked as she saw Ruby was still fast approaching. As the distance between them quickly shrunk Kiera froze in place, unable to think straight.

"You killed him! You killed Topaz!" Ruby shouted as she flew toward Telegirl.

Kiera's eyes widened at the information. Topaz had died from his knife wounds after she and Barry left the mansion? Kiera had accidently killed him after all. "You bi-!" Before Ruby could finish a streak of yellow lightning rushed past Telegirl and Ruby Siren disappeared with it. Before Kiera had time to process what happened, the pounding in her head intensified, causing her to wince and put her palm to her forehead.

A pained scream pierced the suddenly tranquil night sky around the roof and Kiera instantly knew it was Barry's. Kiera looked up and saw Ruby and Flash on the other side of the building's roof. Flash was on his knees near Ruby, his back to Telegirl and his palms pressing into the sides of his masked head as he screamed in pain. A smirking Ruby stood over him, her fist outstretched toward him, clearly enjoying every second of Barry's torture.

" _Barry?!"_ Her mind screamed as she realized she was feeling the effects of a 'Brain Blast' he was receiving.

Telegirl rushed forward toward the scene on the roof, momentarily forgetting about her injuries; they were only beginning to heal thanks to Barry's blood.

"Stop!" Kiera shouted over the wind that was picking up around them.

Ruby's smirk didn't fade as she looked up from Flash. Before Kiera could even think of what to do next, the wind picked up drastically, causing Ruby and Telegirl's hair to fly in every direction. The sound of whirring blades filled the air before a sudden bright light shone down on them from behind Telegirl. A helicopter had found them and was likely filming them live for Central City's news.

The bright light blinded Ruby, causing her to put her hand up to try and block the light, making her forget about torturing Barry. Still able to see, Kiera used that time to try and get Barry to move away from the villain.

 _Barry! Move! Run!_ She screamed mentally, but the Flash didn't move. He was still kneeling on the roof's floor, bent over with his hands on his head. Knowing what she had to do, Kiera focused on moving Barry's body out of the way of Ruby Siren. Kiera blinked and Barry was beside her, his eyes shut tightly as she tried to recover from the intense pain from the 'Brain Blast'.

 _Are you okay?_ Kiera mentally asked him as she saw him slowly remove his hands from his head.

Barry nodded slowly as he opened his eyes. _I think so. Thanks._

Telegirl turned her head back to look at Ruby just in time to see an air conditioning unit being Telekinetically ripped from its position on the roof and thrown toward Ruby's estimated location of the helicopter.

"No!" Kiera shouted as she turned and outstretched her hand toward the helicopter behind them as the unit quickly flew towards it. She focused on finding the helicopter and it suddenly unnaturally flew upward, barely escaping the propelled air conditioner.

Telegirl mentally let go of the helicopter; it was now hovering farther away and the sudden movement had made the spotlight focus on the street below them, allowing them to see it's dark outline and it's lights. It did not move back to where it was, the pilot obviously learning not to get in their way, but it's spotlight returned, the distance making it dimmer and not as blinding.

Flash and Telegirl looked back at Ruby, who was recovering from the temporary blindness.

 _Lets finish this!_ Barry mentally said to Kiera. She nodded, her anger towards Ruby growing, but also her fear from knowing Ruby was superior to her, at least in the way of fighting and using her mind powers against her.

Yellow lightning sparked across Barry's eyes under his red mask as his anger also grew. He glared at Ruby, who was still trying to see them. He was ready to get this over with.

 _Now!_ Barry mentally said to Kiera and they both leaped forward; Telegirl used her powers to fly parallel to the rooftop while Flash used his to speed across. Flash got to her first and without any mental communication, Telegirl outstretched her good arm toward their enemy as she flew. She used her powers to freeze the distracted Ruby in place, so she could not avoid Flash's punch.

Lighting sparked off Barry's good arm as he punched the villain at superspeed. His fist made contact with Ruby's stomach and caused her to fly back against the remaining air conditioning units, slamming into them hard and falling to the roof's floor with a loud groan.

Telegirl landed beside Flash just in time to see her nemesis fall and remain motionless on the rooftop. Kiera glanced at Barry, a look of relief on her face; they had finally gotten the upper hand.

 _I think this calls for more than just a simple dinner date!_ Kiera said to Barry mentally as she laughed. Barry grinned and looked back at her. Just as Barry was going to respond, his grin faded and the color faded from his face.

 _Barry? What's wr-_ Before Kiera could finish asking Barry, she got her answer. Intense pain flooded their minds, making it feel like their skulls were being torn apart. Feeling Barry's 'Brain Blast' meant Kiera was only feeling some of what Barry was feeling. Barry pressed his hands against his head, screaming as the pain continued. Kiera managed to keep her eyes open for a few seconds as she looked over in Ruby's direction. She saw the outline of the villain in the helicopter's spotlight; Ruby was still on the ground, but had repositioned herself as she tried to recover. The villainous woman was on her knees, leaning forward with her head on the ground, but with her arms extended on the ground beside her and her hands outstretched in their directions as she used her powers to give Flash an even worse 'Brain Blast' than before.

"Stop!" Telegirl shouted as she felt the pain of the attack on Barry's mind. She focused on Ruby and retaliated by extending her own arm out toward the villain and making her fly back against the air conditioning unit again.

Ruby slammed into the unit again and groaned, her already sore body taking another hit.

Kiera looked over at Barry, who had fallen to his knees in reaction to the intense pain. _Barry? Barry! Can you hear me? You're okay! I stopped the attack!_ Kiera mentally said to him as moved toward him. _Barry!_ She cried out when he didn't respond, but instead cringed and held his head as pain continued to plague his mind.

"No! No!" Kiera cried as she placed her hands on his good arm. "Barry, can you hear me? Focus on my voice," she repeated what he had told her just an hour or two ago. "Barry?" her voice was frantic as she watched him writhe before her. Telegirl glanced over at Ruby, who was still trying to recover. "What did you do to him?! You should have lost your concentration, but he's still suffering!"

Ruby smirked as she glared at Telegirl while pushed herself up. "Residue. Intense pain does not just go away in a _flash_!"

Telegirl narrowed her eyes as she stood back up and extended her arm to send the villain flying backward again. Ruby's smirk remained as mirrored her nemesis's movements.

"That won't work this time!" the red and black clad villain shouted as she focused on counteracting Telegirl's power. Telegirl narrowed her eyes at Ruby; Kiera knew she was right. Ruby wasn't distracted anymore and so could now focus on cancelling out Kiera's attacks with her own powers.

 _Come on, Barry. Fight it. Come back to me! I need your help!_ Kiera pleaded to Barry mentally as she glanced down at him still writhing in pain. She quickly looked back at Ruby, fierce rage starting to grow inside of her once more.

Telegirl glared at the villain, turning from a moral hero to a fuming nemesis, ready to do whatever it would take to bring down her enemy. With her arm still extended, Kiera focused on the woman before her. She honed in on her powers and focused them on attacking Ruby.

Kiera tried with everything she had, to overpower Ruby's mental powers and send her flying from the roof.

After a few minutes of pushing herself to her absolute limits, she cried out in frustration and agony as she lunged forward. Telegirl quickly flew through the air, directing herself at her nemesis.

Telegirl came at Ruby Siren like a bullet, quickly and deadly. Before Telegirl could stop, Ruby pulled something small from the back of her belt that shone in the helicopter's spotlight. Kiera tried to slow herself, but she didn't have time. The next thing she knew, a wave of searing pain spread through her side as she stopped before Ruby. Kiera looked down to see Ruby's gloved hand wrapped around something sticking out of her side. She gasped as Ruby pulled out a small knife covered in bright red blood from her side.

Telegirl stepped back and instinctively put her hand to the growing red spot on her silver and blue suit. She quickly looked back up at Ruby, who was smirking as she held up the dripping knife. That's when Kiera realized Ruby must have grabbed it from the tray of knives and torture tools used on her in the safe room back at the mansion.

Kiera clenched her jaw and formed her bloody hands into fists as she tried to push the fresh pain from her mind. Using her Telekinesis, she lunged forward again, ready to retaliate.

Ruby, having much more training and experience in fighting, easily moved out of the way before Telegirl could hit her. Telegirl grunted in frustration and turned to face her nemesis once more.

"Do you really think you can defeat me in a fist fight?" Ruby taunted and laughed.

Kiera narrowed her eyes behind her mask and tightened her fists, causing her knuckles to turn white. "I don't just have my fists!"

Telegirl lunged again, using her powers once more to quicken and reinforce her punch. The sudden increase in speed caught the villain off-guard. Kiera's fist made contact with Ruby's cheek, causing drops of blood to spew from the villain's mouth.

Telegirl stepped back and kept her left arm up to defend herself and her right arm up as best she could with her injuries.

"And I think I can, _Abigail!_ " Telegirl taunted back and this time it was her turn to smirk.

Ruby's eyes widened under red and black mask, not expecting to hear her real name; the name she had worked so hard to erase from any and every database, book, record and picture out in the world when he recreated herself as Ruby several years ago.

"How could you possibly know that!?" she asked, her voice weaker than normal as she looked at Telegirl, stunned.

"You were distracted, Abigail! I entered your mind and found it," Telegirl answered.

Ruby, or Abigail, glared at her nemesis. "Don't ever call me that again! My name is Ruby! Or as you and your team call me, Ruby Siren!" she screamed and lunged forward, easily making it to Telegirl in a blink of an eye.

The punch to the burns on Kiera's bare mid section came out of nowhere, and when it did, pain radiated through her whole body like a ripple spreading across a lake. The impact made Telegirl scream in pain and clench her now bleeding burns, which suddenly felt like they were lit on fire again. Telegirl took several steps backwards as she tried to recover.

She looked up, glaring at Ruby as she straightened. "You won't win, Abigail!" she shouted as she put her hands up again to fight. Pure adrenaline surged through Kiera's body, keeping her going and keeping her mind off the pain throughout her body.

Ruby Siren glared at Telegirl, hatred building. "I told you to stop calling me by that hideous name! I am Ruby!" she shouted and once again lunged at her. This time Kiera learned and quickly opened one of her fists, focusing on an object behind her enemy.

A metal pipe broke free from its place on the roof and soared through the air before making contact with Ruby's back. The villain let out a pained cry as she fell to the roof's concrete floor.

Ruby Siren quickly recovered and flew up into the air, creating distance between the two of them. Telegirl followed, aiming herself at the villain, ready to hit her.

Ruby saw and veered out of the way.

As Telegirl flew past, Ruby reached out and grabbed her leg, yanking Kiera down and causing her to lose her concentration. Telegirl tried to wiggle and kick herself lose, but Ruby's grip was too tight and her reflexes too fast.

Ruby suddenly let go of Telegirl's boot and at first Kiera was relieved, but then she realized she was falling, falling toward the building below.

Kiera tried to focus on making herself float again, but nothing happened. Everything was happening too fast and she wasn't able to focus.

Telegirl closed her eyes, anticipating the impact, but it never came. She slowly opened one eye and then the other as she tried to determine whether she was dead or alive.

Kiera saw the building's roof laid out before her, lit by the helicopter far above and Central City beyond the edge. She looked down and realized she wasn't on the ground. She turned her head and saw Barry had recovered and was holding her up in his arms.

Kiera couldn't help but laugh a little. _Another Prince Charming move? You are turning into the cliché Prince Charming, aren't you?_ She smiled at him.

 _I couldn't help myself._ He chuckled also.

Kiera then remembered his own injuries and immediately jumped down from his arms. Sensing through the pain in her own body, she suddenly discerned that his injuries weren't as bad as before. Kiera looked at his burned arm and saw it was healing; the burns weren't bright red or crimson anymore and they had stopped bleeding.

 _They're healing already._ Kiera let out a breath, relieved.

Barry nodded, looking down at his arm. _Yours are beginning to heal also._ He looked at her injuries that were healing a little faster than normal. Barry placed his hand on his head. _And whatever she did to my mind, it finally stopped._

At the mention of their enemy, Kiera glanced up in Ruby's direction in time to see the villain descending toward them, fury written all over her partially masked face.

 _Now you can help me end this._ Kiera said to Barry mentally and he nodded before getting into a ready stance.

Telegirl's shield rose out of her pocket and expanded above their heads, shielding them from the villainous red and black woman descending toward them. Kiera had the clear shield follow Ruby as she lowered to the ground, keeping it between them and their enemy. Ruby landed roughly twenty feet from the two heroes and glared at them.

"Look who's back on their feet!" Ruby shouted. "Need some more beauty rest?" she extended her arm toward Flash and focused on his mind.

"That won't work this time!" Telegirl shouted back, repeating the villain's earlier line. She closed her eyes and focused on blocking Ruby from entering Barry's mind. Kiera clenched the hand at her side as she withstood Ruby's attempts.

A few minutes later, Ruby cried out in frustration and lowered her hand. Telegirl smirked as she opened her eyes again.

"That's how you want to play it? Fine!" Ruby Siren screamed and rushed at the two heroes as focused her power on moving the shield between them. Kiera tried to keep the shield in place, but blocking Barry's mind again Ruby's powerful attack had exhausted her, making her powers weaker. Telegirl lost the battle and the shield went flying, disappearing over the edge of the building's roof.

Ruby smirked at the win and sped up with the help of her powers.

Flash thought fast as he watched the villain approach and Kiera trying to recover beside him. He picked Telegirl up and ran around Ruby to the other side of the roof. Ruby grunted in frustration as she blinked and the two heroes were gone. She turned and sprung forward, trying again.

"I could do this all day!" Flash shouted as he watched the villain and then glanced at Kiera to see if she had recovered yet.

Ruby Siren narrowed her eyes at his taunting. Flash and Telegirl vanished again, the Scarlet Speedster playing a game of 'Tag' with their nemesis.

Telegirl recovered just before another air conditioning unit flew quickly toward their backs. She lifted her hand and managed to stop it before it could reach them. Flash turned as the unit crashed behind them; his eyes wide as he realized what had almost happened.

Suddenly Kiera heard Barry scream and turned toward where he was standing to see he wasn't there; instead he was flying sideways and then crashing into one of the remaining units.

"No!" Kiera shouted and turned to Ruby, who was smirking at her success of provoking Telegirl. Telegirl jumped forward, carrying herself across the roof at Ruby faster than she thought possible.

Rage consumed Kiera as she focused on Ruby's mind, using her suddenly heightened abilities to try and break into Ruby's mind.

Unable to resist the unexpected and overpowering attack, Ruby Siren screamed as she tried to block Telegirl's attempts, "Get out!"

Not listening, Telegirl breached the villain's mind and sent a powerful 'Brain Blast'. The assault overpowered Ruby's mind, causing overwhelming pain. Ruby closed her eyes tight and screamed as pressed her palms against her head and tried to make the blast stop.

Seeing her nemesis was not able to fight back, Kiera acted without thinking as fury took over. Telegirl landed several feet from the woman and used all of her remaining strength as she outstretched her hand.

Ruby Siren went flying backwards toward the edge of the roof, still unable to do anything due to the overwhelming attack to her mind.

Flash stood up in time to see the scene. _No! Kiera, stop! Don't do this!_ He mentally pleaded with Kiera, but she didn't hear him.

Ruby Siren flew over the edge of the building, disappearing from sight. Flash rushed to Telegirl as she stopped at the ledge, his eyes wide at what just happened.

They watched as Ruby fell toward the street below, unable to focus on making herself float or fly due to the powerful 'Brain Blast' still overwhelming her mind.

 _You didn't have to do that. We could've put her back in the Pipeline._

 _I had no choice. I had to end it… after all that she did. We couldn't take a chance of her escaping again and doing something worse._ Kiera replied.

A loud crash echoed below and they both knew what had caused it.

 _She-_ Suddenly a wave of exhaustion flooded Kiera's body as everything she had done and endured finally caught up with her. Telegirl's knees buckled and she collapsed.

Seeing her starting to fall, Barry immediately moved to catch her.

 _Kiera? Kiera!?_ Barry's voice faded as Kiera lost consciousness.

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE:**

 **And so now you know why it took me so long to write this! I wanted her death to be perfect! Let me know what you think of the way it ended?**

 **So now there will only be TWO more chapters next! I hopefully chapter 30 will be done quicker than this one, but I already know I'll need to spend a lot of time on it, so please be patient with me. I can't make promises, but I hope to have it up sooner than 2 months. Trust me, I'll be working hard to get this next one to you as soon as I can.**

 **Also, Ruby hating her real name( Abigail) does NOT mean I personally hate it. I just wanted her to have a name you'd never think she'd have- that's why she wanted to erase it from history. You'd like her real name would be something like Veronica or Amber or Jennifer or Tiffany, but no, it's Abigail (That does not mean I think those names are bad or anything either! They are also beautiful names).**

 **One last thing- Barry promises Kiera they'd go on a dinner date or something more. I'd love to hear your ideas! Where do you think they should go? Please give me your ideas in your review or in a PM! Thanks!**

 **Thank you again for being so unbelievably patient! Your reviews, thoughts and questions mean so much to me! I hope you all have a wonderful year! (:**


	30. Chapter 30

**WRITER'S NOTE: Hello everyone! Again I am soooooooooo sorry for taking so long. My life has crazy- the most recent event being a family member passed away (naturally). So it's not been an easy time over here for several reasons. Anyways enough dampening the mood…**

 **So I decided to split what I was going to have as Chapter 30 into two chapters, so you guys don't have to wait so long. This first part is the date Kiera and Barry promised each other if they survived Ruby's torture and battle, so enjoy! (: The next chapter- which was going to be the main part of Chapter 30- will take time as it's what I've been putting off because I want it to be perfect. But I hope it won't take NEARLY as long as this part took to finish, because hopefully I won't have as much things on my plate from now on, but I can't promise anything of course.**

 **And as a reminder after the next chapter/ second half of this one (Chapter 31) there will only be ONE chapter (not including the two one-shots you've requested)!**

 **Thank you again to all of those who have been so patient with me through all of this and understanding my personal life comes first!**

 **So here is your reward! :D Enjoy!**

* * *

Three months had passed since that intense night on the rooftop where Flash and Telegirl had fought Ruby Siren and Telegirl had eventually killed her.

Three months since Telegirl and the Flash had been captured and tortured by Ruby and Topaz.

Three months since Kiera had accidently killed Topaz and then deliberately killed her arch nemesis, Ruby Siren.

After sending the 'Brain Blasted' Ruby over the building's ledge, Telegirl had passed out from overusing her powers, the blood loss, the earlier torture that still caused an enormous amount of pain- both physically and mentally, and the rollercoaster ride of emotions during their torture and fight. Barry, ignoring his own injuries, had feverously carried her back to S.T.A.R. Labs, where the team realized she had slipped into a coma while her mind tried to recover from everything that had happened.

Kiera's coma lasted almost a month, during which time the footage of the fight that the news helicopter had filmed was seen on every screen in Central City, taking over every nearby news channel. Debates erupted everywhere about either or not Telegirl should have killed her nemesis, what had happened to Flash and Telegirl to cause the visible burns, cuts and other injuries before the camera started rolling, and where Telegirl had disappeared to for almost a month, leaving Flash to save the city by himself again.

When Kiera did finally wake up, she was flooded with the emotions of what had happened what she thought was only a minute before, but was actually a total of three and a half weeks. When Caitlin, Barry and Cisco finally calmed her down, she suddenly felt as if she had let out a breath she'd been holding for months. Relief flooded in as she realized her nemesis, the evil Ruby Siren, could not torment them anymore.

It took Kiera about a week to return to her old self, thanks to blood transfusions with Barry -which had become routine the minute she was laid in the S.T.A.R. Lab's hospital bed- some physical therapy with Dr. Snow's help and seeing the positive feedback from the people of Central City.

A week later, when she was finally strong enough, both mentally and physically, Kiera and Barry were finally about to go on that date he had promised her they'd have if they survived Ruby's torture and battle. Deciding they needed some fun and unwinding, Barry and Kiera decided to go to Central City's newly arrived seasonal carnival.

As they entered the carnival set up by the water, the smell of fried food, cotton candy and popcorn greeted them along with the sounds of blaring music, children screaming and laughing, bells and dings of the games being played and won and rides taking off with a chorus of screams and their breaks squealing.

"Where do we start?" Kiera asked as looked around at crowds of people walking among the game stations, food stations and rides that made up three rows stretched out before them. The sun was only an hour away from setting across the water and then the carnival would really come alive with bright lights of every color.

"Those jalapeño cheese fries are calling my name!" Barry said as he chuckled.

"Of course they are," Kiera laughed, remembering his preference of adding jalapeños to his pizza.

The couple made their way over to the nearby food stalls and then causally walked around the carnival as they ate. With a couple courses of greasy finger food quickly gone while watching others play the carnival games, they decided to try their luck at some of the games.

Barry and Kiera stopped in front of a game booth with the large block words 'Milk Bottle Toss' on a banner and the inside of the booth was lined with stuffed animal prizes of all shapes and sizes. There was a long table at the back of the booth with two pyramid shaped stacks of milk bottles and a middle aged carnie man standing against the booth's counter lazily tossing a spar baseball up in the air as he watched another couple try their luck at hitting one of the bottle pyramids.

The carnie saw Barry and Kiera and beckoned them toward his booth. "Come right up and show off your throwing skills to your lovely girlfriend!" he called out, holding out the baseball towards Barry and motioned to the other couple who was taking turns throwing at one stack of bottles.

One of Kiera's eyebrows rose, clearly not liking the stereotype. She looked at Barry and he shrugged his shoulders in return before approaching the empty side of the booth.

"He won't win _for_ me, because I'll knock them down first!" Kiera stated as she gave in and followed Barry, causing the carnie to grin at his success.

"Oh really? Challenge accepted!" Barry responded and chuckled.

As he placed carnival tickets in the booth's slot and the man quickly explained the objective of the game- making the entire pyramid fall with only a baseball in up to three tries- and handed Barry three baseballs.

Barry threw them one by one at the pyramid of bottles, but only knocked over the top of the three bottles. Kiera smirked and took the balls as the carnie returned them.

"Now I'll show you how it's done," Kiera told Barry as she stepped up to the counter. She took her turn, but ended up with the same result.

 _At least a girl didn't beat me!_ Barry teased, using their mental connection to communicate. The sudden exclamation caused Kiera to laugh out loud. The carnie and other couple looked over at her, confused as to why she suddenly laughed, as they were not able to hear their mental conversation. Kiera's face reddened and she stepped back to let Barry take his turn, who was grinning widenly.

The couple each took another turn but got the same score. On his turn, Barry stepped back to the counter and gripped the baseball as he studied the bottles stacked on the other side of the game booth. Kiera leaned against the counter and an idea came to her. She looked at the milk bottles as she reached out to them with her mind. Realizing something was off about them, she closed her eyes to focus on them.

Kiera's eyes opened quickly as she realized what was wrong. She glanced over and saw Barry was getting ready to throw the baseball.

The ball left his fingers and soared through the air toward the stacked bottles a second later. With her wrist resting on the counter, Kiera flicked two fingers up just as the baseball made contact.

A loud crash interrupted the carnival noises as all of the bottles and the baseball fell to the floor below. Kiera smirked and clapped as she looked at Barry, who had no idea she had helped him win. A grin spread across this face and he fist-pumped the air.

"And third ball gets them all!" shouted the carnie, shock on his face. People cheered and clapped as they walked past behind them, which caused the couple's smiles to widen.

After picking out a stuffed animal prize, Barry and Kiera walked off toward the other games. Kiera held the gifted stuffed bunny under her arm and looked over at Barry.

 _You know that game was rigged, right?_ She asked to him mentally as they walked.

 _What do you mean? I won!_ He responded as he looked over at her.

 _Because I used my powers to knock down the bottles._

 _What?_ He laughed and then saw she was serious. _You cheated so I could win?_

 _Yep._ She grinned. _The bottom bottles were filled with sand. Unless you used your super speed to throw the ball, you'd never have gotten them down._

 _Then he knows we cheated!_ Barry looked back at the booth.

 _He's not going to do anything about it or he'd have to admit it's rigged; besides he doesn't even know how you did it._ Kiera grinned and looked down at the fluffy prize in her arms.

 _You read his mind?_ He looked over at her, surprised.

Kiera only nodded and laughed. After a minute of feeling Barry's shock and confusion, she added, _Hey! It's not a proper carnival date until the boy wins a game for the girl, right? Besides, what's the worst that could have happened? He lost a stuffed animal!_ She looked over at him with a smile as she held up the stuffed prize, proud of herself for helping him win.

Barry only shook his head and laughed.

 _Okay, fine._ She added a moment later. _I swear I won't cheat for you in the next game! But if the game is rigged, I'll help myself win to prove girls can beat boys! Oh, and to see the carnie's reaction again!_ She burst out laughing and Barry joined in.

The couple continued through the carnival, playing several games, eating more of the delicious smelling food, and going on the brightly lit rides. They had not felt this free and happy since before their interactions with the now deceased Ruby Siren. Kiera and Barry forgot about their alter egos as the city's heroes and instead got to be themselves, with no masks, no villains to apprehend, no heavy responsibility of keeping everyone safe; instead they got to enjoy the peaceful night together.

The carnival ended at midnight, though to Kiera and Barry it went by too fast- feeling like it had only been an hour or two instead of six. With armfuls of souvenirs and prizes, they made their way down the lit sidewalk toward Kiera's temporary residence in Caitlin's apartment; not wanting the night to be over, they didn't rush back at superspeed or by flying through the air.

The walk was peaceful until suddenly the sound of two gunshots echoed through the empty street. Hearing them, Barry's world slowed down as he looked around for the source of the sounds. Seeing two small flashes of light atop the building across from them, Barry let go of the prizes in his hand and reached his hands up as two bullets flew towards them in slow motion. His hands wrapped around the bullets just before they could reach both of their heads.

* * *

 **WRITER'S NOTE: DUN DUN DUN…. Sorry to leave off on a cliffhanger! But I wanted to set up the next chapter/ last half of this chapter! I'm promise I'm going to write it as fast as I possibly can!**

 **And as always, if you have any questions or suggestions please include them in your review or send me a PM. I love to hear your feedback. Thank you! (: And I also want to rewrite this whole story after I finish these next two chapters, because I was rereading the beginning and caught so many mistakes I some how missed before and feel like I've developed as a writer since then. Anyways, that was just a heads up.**

 **Thank you continuing this journey with me. It means a lot to know you guys like it!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Writer's Note:**

 **Hey everyone! Thank you all for waiting so patiently for this chapter! I hope this action packed chapter (Part 1 of 2) was worth the wait. (: Remember this chapter was supposed to be the last full chapter of this story, but it ended up running long, so I decided to split it in half (I have half of part 2 done). Part 2 (or Chapter 32) will be next and will officially be the last full chapter of this story (with an epilogue after). After the story is done, I will be going back to edit (and rewrite parts of) the whole story, since I believe my writing skills have improved since I first started (because it's taken so long. Sorry about that!).**

 **I'd also like to thank highlander348 for all of her help and support. Thanks again, my friend!**

 **Did you guys watch Flash last night? When Harry and Cecile were talking about her new powers they mentioned "cerebellum proof anti-telepathy somani steel" to dampen Telepaths' powers! I am so adding that into my story somehow! :D**

 **Enjoy the chapter everyone!**

* * *

It was well past midnight in Central City when the couple walked down the sidewalk after their date at the travelling carnival. The street and buildings around Kiera and Barry were dimly lit by streetlights as they walked. Everything was peaceful when the couple made their way toward Kiera's current residence of Caitlin's apartment, but Barry had hardly noticed the silence. His mind had been focused on something else and his heart was racing like his legs usually were at Superspeed. His free hand, the one not holding half of their carnival winnings, had slipped into his jeans' pocket until his fingers had touched a small rounded metal box; knowing it was still there brought a nervous smile to his face. Barry had glanced over at Kiera and then at the streetlight in front of them.

He took his hand out of his pocket, leaving the antique metal container inside and had reached out his hand to gently stop her. "Kiera, I want to ask you somethi-" His question was interrupted by the sound of two gunshots and his focus turned from the object in his pocket and the woman beside him to finding the source of the disruption while everything around him slowed down.

Kiera was turning to face Barry when she heard the gunshots pierce the silence, like thunder booming in the distance. She blinked and suddenly Barry's fist was next to her head and his other fist was in front of his own head. It took her a few seconds to realize what had just happened. When she finally did, a gasp escaped her lips. Two bullets had stopped only a few inches from their targets of Kiera and Barry's heads thanks to Barry's superhuman reflexes.

He had opened his hands, letting go of the bullets and picked up Kiera. Barry ran into a nearby alley at superspeed before the falling bullets could even hit the sidewalk. He set her down once they were safely hidden. Kiera dropped the prizes and souvenirs she had been holding as she tried to process the fact that they had almost been murdered.

 _Are you all right, Kiera?_ Barry asked her mentally while he quickly checked her over for any injuries and used their connection to detect any pain she might have been experiencing.

 _What?_ Kiera asked as she realized he was standing beside her. _Ye…yeah I'm fine, I think._

Barry looked down the alleyway in the direction of the building the sniper shots had come from and Kiera instantly knew what his thoughts were, even without their connection. She quickly started taking off her top in the alleyway to reveal her Telegirl suit underneath.

 _You're starting to think like a superhero._ Barry chuckled, seeing her grey, blue and silver Telegirl suit.

Kiera grinned at him. _Go! I'll be right behind you!_ She told him mentally as she continued to reveal her costume.

Barry nodded to her and in a burst of yellow and red he also took off his top layer of clothing to reveal his Flash suit. Before he ran off, he turned back to Kiera, placed his hand on her back and pulled her into a kiss.

Kiera stopped what she was doing and smiled before kissing him back. She opened her eyes and pulled away a few seconds later.

 _Be careful._

 _Always._ Barry grinned back as he pulled his hooded mask up over his head and in another flash of red and yellow he ran out of the alley. Kiera chuckled and returned to transforming into Telegirl.

After she successfully uncovered her suit, she opened one her suit's pockets and pulled out her collapsible shield and redesigned metal headpiece that Cisco made collapsible. Kiera put on the headpiece and then, using her telekinesis, opened her shield while she made it hover before her as she started to run down the alleyway. Kiera used her powers to push herself along faster and gained speed before she ascended up into the air, just as the alley opened up into the still deserted street.

Everything was dark; the only lighting was the full moon, an occasional streetlight and a few traffic lights, which casted eerie shadows on the streets and buildings around them. Keeping the shield in front of her in case the shooter- or shooters- saw and opened fire, Telegirl flew up toward the rectangle building's roof. Once she was closer she realized the shadowy building was an almost empty parking structure. Most of the lights were off inside, making it impossible to differentiate between shadows and possible enemies in the structure's half a dozen levels.

 _Barry? Where are you?_ Kiera asked Barry mentally while she watched building from the air.

After she waited a minute with no response and no movement or sounds inside, Kiera's heart started to race faster; something had to be wrong.

She decided to check the parking garage's roof. Telegirl quickly gained altitude and rose above the edge of the building in time to see Central City's hero on his knees, writhing in pain. He was bent over, almost in a ball, on the parking garage's roof with his palms pressed against his masked forehead.

 _Barry! Can you hear me?!_ Kiera's mental voice screamed, frantic as she took in the scene on the roof several feet below her.

In-between her and the indisposed Flash were eight men with their backs to her. The men were all heavily armed and prepared for a fight in camouflage military uniforms and bulletproof vests. Two soldiers were standing a few feet in front of the others in the direction of The Flash and were holding up guns that looked like a cross between a gun you'd see in a Sci-Fi movie and a regular bazooka; but instead of an opening at the end of the barrel, there were small panels of blue light directed toward the Scarlet Speedster. They could only be one thing- some kind of modified power dampening device like Cisco made and Ruby used to take away their powers, but this time the tech was in the shape of guns instead of merely panels.

The Flash cried out in pain and pressed his palms harder against his forehead as if to try and stop the pain. That brought Kiera's attention back to Barry and she raised her other arm- keeping the other parallel with the shield in front of her. Her other hand formed a fist as she focused on the power dampening guns.

The modified guns in the hands of the two men out front started to shake and then suddenly blew apart, sending shrapnel in every direction. The effects on Barry's mind quickly dissipated and he opened his eyes while he slowly lifted his head. The military men spun around to look up at what The Flash was looking at and saw Telegirl hovering behind them with a smirk on her face.

"I really don't like it when people point guns at us!" Telegirl shouted as she looked at the men through her floating shield from where she floated several feet above the edge of the building. "Now, can we talk about why you shot at u-?" Before she could finish her question, one of the men closest to her threw a small object up at her.

Telegirl quickly moved the shield to stop the object from hitting her. It smashed into the clear barrier in a burst of blue light and Kiera relaxed slightly, thinking she successfully protected herself from whatever the soldier threw at her. Before she could make another comment she suddenly felt lightheaded and started to free fall toward the roof and parked cars below.

Kiera tried to focus on catching herself with her Telekinesis, but nothing happened, instead she continued to gain speed as she fell. Unable to use any of her powers, Telegirl's back slammed into a parked car on the roof and her shield landed several feet away before it slid away. A low groan escaped her lips as pain spread throughout her body, focused mainly on her back and head.

 _Kiera? Kiera! Are you okay?_ Barry voice asked her mentally, distorted and echoing in her pounding head. She couldn't open her eyes as pain and lightheadedness came in waves.

A minute passed and finally Kiera groaned. _I'm not sure._ She managed as the effects started to fade somewhat. _I think so._ Telegirl slowly tried to sit up on top of the damaged car; it took a few tries, but eventually she sat up. A whimper escaped her lips as she felt intense pain in her right arm while trying to push herself up with it. _I think I fractured my arm._ Kiera gritted her teeth and tried to push herself off the dented car with her other arm. The car's windshield crackled beneath her like ice as she managed to move slowly and then eventually get down off the car. Her back was badly bruised, but she stood up straight, trying not to give into the pain.

Telegirl dusted off the broken glass from her suit with her good hand, while her other arm was held against her side, and she looked at the men between her and Flash. Some of them were watching her while others watched The Flash, ready to throw more power dampening grenades at both of them. Barry knew if he had tried to run and catch her or help her up, they would have stopped him with the grenades. He was forced to stay where he was and watch as his partner suffered.

"Now that wasn't very nice!" Telegirl said as she focused on their minds. "Why are you trying to kill us?" she muttered under her breath as she tried to reach out into their minds.

When she attempted, she suddenly felt searing pain in her head, like her skull was being ripped apart. As her head throbbed, her parents' deaths flashed before her eyes. Instantly Telegirl knew what it was and that it could not have come from the men in front of her.

Telegirl fell to her knees as she let out an agonizing scream; the excruciating pain and the cruel reminders of the worst day of her life wreaked havoc on her mind. Kiera's uninjured hand instinctively went to her head and her eyes closed tight, coincidently very similar to the position Flash was in when she had first arrived on the scene.

"Nooooo!" Flash screamed out loud, He wasn't sure what had happened as he watched through the group of soldiers. Lightning instinctively flickered across his feet, momentarily forgetting the soldiers' weapons.

 _KIERA?!_ Barry shouted again, but this time mentally as he saw her continue to suffer and he felt some of her pain through their connection. His instincts kicked in once more and without even a millisecond of hesitation, his feet left the ground. Lightning sparked across his suit as he ran toward her, carefully avoiding the men as he raced as fast as he could toward Kiera. Blue lights caused him to look away from the suffering Telegirl; more modified grenades were soaring through the air towards him in slow motion. Flash barely missed them as he dodged back and forth. The power dampening grenades exploded behind him- far enough away that they did not affect him.

The Flash finally made it to Telegirl and he picked her up before he ran up one of the parking structure's ramps to a higher part of the roof. He sat them down against a solid concrete barrier, one that stopped any cars from going over onto the descending ramp that went down into the parking structure's top level.

 _Kiera? Are you okay? Can you hear me?_ Barry frantically asked mentally as held onto her, trying to comfort her as best he could even though he didn't know what exactly was going on instead her head.

Kiera's hand was still on her head, her eyes were tightly shut and her face was contorted in pain. Her head felt like it was stuck in a blender set to 'pulverize' and images of her parents continued to flood her mind, consuming every thought.

"Kiera? Talk to me! Kiera?" Barry whispered out loud, feeling a small amount of what she was feeling due to their connection. He quickly had an idea and opened one of her suit's pockets on her hip, taking out a syringe filled with his own blood. He quickly injected it into her right shoulder, hoping it would help heal her arm and possibly her head as well.

After a couple minutes, Kiera lowered her arms slowly and tried to focus on breathing evenly. "It was…" she managed faintly as she tried to fight back against the pain, unable to communicate mentally while she tried to regain control. "…a 'Brain Blast'," her breathing became more even. "…about my parents."

"What?! Only you and Ruby…" Barry whispered back, his mind was reeling as he tried to process what it could mean.

"Yes," was all she could manage, her eyes were still closed tight as she tried to recover. She only had as much of a clue as he did about the origin of the torture.

"But _she's_ dead…" He added, still whispering. "She can't be alive! We saw her die! I saw her body in the morgue while you were in your coma! I was there when they declared her dead!"

"I don't know how it's possible," Kiera shook her head as much as she could while her head pounded. "I don't know. But it's gone now,"she said mentally as she finally succeeded in fighting back against the Brain Blast.

"Good, but we have another problem,"Barry frowned as he quickly looked over the barrier they were hiding behind and saw the soldiers making their way up the ramps with more dampening guns, grenades and regular firearms.

Kiera managed to communicate mentally this time as her mind recovered. _What is it?_ She asked. She sensed it was something more than just the advancing soldiers and their weapons. As she moved herself to get more comfortable in their hiding spot, she remembered her injured arm and slowly moved it. The pain was now dull, as it had quickly healed thanks to Barry's blood.

 _Those are A.R.G.U.S. soldiers._ Barry said and turned back around, hiding behind the barrier once more.

Kiera lowered her arm, forgetting about her injury. _A.R.G.U.S.?! Why would they want to kills us?_ Kiera mentally asked, shocked as she remembered Barry's memories about the secret organization. _We're on the same side!_

Barry sighed and shrugged, telling her that her guess was as good as his.

 _Hold on._ Kiera mentally added before she closed her eyes. She focused on entering the closest soldier's mind, this time ready for another possible 'Brain Blast'. It took her a minute, thankfully without another mental attack, and once inside his mind she found her answer quickly.

Telegirl's eyes opened wide and her fists tightened at her sides.

 _What is it? What did you find?_ Barry asked, knowing what she had tried to do.

Kiera snapped out of her shock and looked at him. _They aren't getting their orders from A.R.G.U.S. They got them from Ruby!_

 _Ruby? She's dead! How could she have 'Brain Blasted' you_ _and_ _brainwashed A.R.G.U.S. agents? She isn't alive! I saw her lifeless; I'm positive!_

Kiera frowned as she tried to figure it out also.

 _Maybe she messed with our minds more than I realized during the tortures? Maybe she somehow made you believe you saw her dead or something? Maybe somehow she embedded a 'blast' for the future? I don't know._ Kiera frowned.

 _And captured and brainwashed those soldiers before she died?_ Barry added as he tried to figure it out with her.

Kiera closed her eyes and focused on the soldier's mind again, trying to search for answers while Barry glanced back at the advancing soldiers, who were now almost half way up the two ramps.

 _We can't stay here long. They'll be in range to use their weapons any minute now. And we'll be surrounded soon after that._ Barry warned, mentally.

Kiera nodded and kept her eyes closed as she focused on the soldier's mind. _Just give me a few seconds._

As Telegirl entered the soldier's mind again, she felt pain spread over her body. This time it wasn't a Brain Blast- what she was prepared for- but instead the injuries she suffered while captured by Ruby Siren three months ago suddenly surfaced as if she was back in that metal chair, reliving the torture. Her abdomen and shoulder, where the burns once were, felt as if they were on fire and she felt the stinging pain surface from the cuts that were once on her lower arm. Kiera still had reminders of the torture in the form of slightly visible scars that hadn't completely disappeared, even with the help of Barry's blood, but now it felt like the injuries had only been inflicted a few seconds ago.

Kiera let out an agonizing scream as the pain intensified. The scream echoed across the parking lot's concrete roof, verifying their position in the darkness to the A.R.G.U. closing in on them.

 _Kiera? What's going on? Kiera! Are you okay? Ki-!_ Barry's mental screams faded along with his comforting touch on her arm as Kiera felt herself uncontrollably descend deep into the soldier's mind. Everything faded away until she couldn't feel, see or hear anything. Everything was numb. Everything was pitch black, as if she had entered a room without any windows, doors or lighting.

She tried to figure out how to get out, but nothing seemed to happen. Kiera felt trapped; it seemed like she had somehow been locked in a prison inside the A.R.G.U.S. soldier's mind, but she didn't even know if that was possible.

After what felt like a decade of not being able to do anything, a chill came over Kiera; a sudden familiar feeling that she couldn't quite figure out.

"Telegirl…" A drawn out silky voice said in the darkness. "Or should I call you by your real name? 'Kiera'…" Another shiver, stronger this time, ran down Kiera's spine; she instantly knew whose voice it was.

"Ruby," Kiera said as she tried to look around in the pitch-black mental prison she was trapped in. "You're dead! How are you here?! Where are we?" She shouted into the darkness.

"You haven't guessed it by now? You were so close when you and Flashie were theorizing so adorably." Ruby's voice laughed. "This is my backup plan, in case you did somehow manage to kill me." There was a pause, as if Ruby didn't believe she was defeated. "I left this message for you… and a 'going away party'."Even though Kiera couldn't see Ruby's face, she knew the villain was smirking.

"A 'Message'? A 'Going away party'?"Kiera asked, unsure if she really wanted to know exactly what they were.

A figure suddenly stepped out of the darkness, like it had stepped out of thick black fog. Even though everything else was completely dark, the person was completely visible as if a spotlight shone down on her. The skin-tight red and black leather suit, long loosely curled black hair, piercing green eyes and ruby red lips were instantly recognizable. Her face lacked her usual matching mask, which wasn't needed anymore to hide her identity.

Kiera looked down and she saw she could now see her own suit-clad body, but everything around the two unmasked women was still pitch black, like the black fog was clinging around them.

"This isn't possible! You're dead!" Kiera shouted and shook her head while she looked around at the darkness surrounding them. "I'm in some kind of mental projection?"

Ruby sneered as she watched the hero, almost pitying her. "You still don't know our abilities as Telepaths, do you? You never were too bright, _Telegirl_." She taunted with a smirk, teasing her prey like a predator would with its future meal.

Kiera looked at Ruby and narrowed her eyes. "What's your 'going away party' then?"

"You haven't figured that out either?" Ruby rolled her eyes and chuckled, getting tired of having to explain everything.

"You sent A.R.G.U.S. soldiers to try and kill us," Kiera muttered under her breath, her hands forming fists. "Well sorry to say, your plan failed! We're not dead… unlike you!"

The villain laughed. "You thought all I'd have planned to get my revenge on the both of you was to send a few petty soldiers with some toys? You really are a slow learner!" Ruby laughed. "But those soldiers did seem to wound both of you."

Kiera froze. If the soldiers weren't the only things Ruby had set up before her death, what else could be coming for them on that roof? She needed to get out and warn Barry.

" _This_ is the real fight, Telegirl." Ruby said, her smirk growing, and outstretched her arms as if to display her plan. "And it's only beginning."

Kiera's restraint wore thin. She lunged forward, somehow using her powers inside the soldier's mind to help push her mental body along faster. She half ran, half flew toward the villain. Right before she made it to Ruby, she moved her tightly formed fist in front of her, ready to punch. Her fist moved through the air toward Ruby's face, but before she could make contact, the villain evaporated into the darkness. Kiera stopped, confused and looked around at the blackness surrounding her.

"You think you can hurt me, _Telegirl_? This is _my_ mind game! This is _my_ realm!" Ruby's teasing voice called out, her words echoing through the darkness along with her laugh.

"Then come and fight me! Come and _win_! Try and kill me!" Kiera shouted at the darkness, trying to provoke her nemesis as she looked all around.

"That won't work with me," Ruby's laughter echoed louder. "You will die, but in due time. I like to play with my food first."

"I killed you once! I'm ready to do it again!" Kiera shouted back as she looked up, her fists tightening until her knuckles turned white.

This time her mockery seemed to have worked; the villain materialized behind her. Ruby brought her heeled boot up to Kiera's back and kicked the unsuspecting hero forward, hard.

All of the air left Kiera's lungs as she unexpectedly fell forward into the black fog that covered the ground they stood on. Instead of hitting a hard surface, Kiera felt herself fall into the darkness; swallowed up by an abyss.

* * *

 **Writer's Note:**

 **A few of you asked me if Kiera and Barry would get engaged any time soon, so I decided to do a little nod to that in the beginning of this chapter. Sorry it's probably not what you guys wanted, but keep an eye out for more later in the next chapter! (:**

 **Also in case it wasn't clear: How Ruby made that mind prison inside the soldier's mind was she left a small bit of her consciousness in his mind before she died. Think of it sort of like how DeVoe is putting his consciousness into other bodies, expect Ruby's not fully swapping minds, but instead just putting part of her mind into another.**

 **Thank you all for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing my story! It means so much!**


	32. Chapter 32

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT claim to (or have ever claimed to) own DC's The Flash character, the show, or anything close. I just love the show and the comics and wanted to write fan fiction- like many others on this site.**

 **WRITER'S NOTES: Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a long time. I knew going in that this last part of my story would be the most challenging and time consuming to write, but I didn't realize just how much. While writing, it started to get long, but I didn't want to condense it down into one chapter. A lot needed to happen before it ended (you'll see some of that in this chapter!) So I decided to split up what I had already into two chapters. So the last part of this story will be in one more chapter (not including the** **epilogue)! I hope this next one won't take me as long, but we'll have to see! A lot still needs to happen!**

 **A few of you asked questions in your reviews of the last chapter, so I thought I'd answer them here:**

 **First question is from Marie (Ravenmore45 asked pretty much the same in her review also):**

 **"Can she finally fly almost as fast as the Flash can run?" Telegirl can't fly as fast as Flash can run, because she doesn't have Super speed, but she still can fly pretty fast. I haven't figured out an exact speed though.**

 **Question from** **Ravenmore45:**

 **"What does her costume look like again? Can you describe it? Paint me a picture for me as they say in my art class." The full description of Telegirl's suit is about halfway down in** **Chapter 5 (and I do briefly describe it again in this chapter). (:**

 **Question from WinterRain36:**

 **"She is capable of putting her mind into Barry's mind when she has to right?" In a way, yes Kiera can. She can't physically put her whole mind into another person's and leave her own body, even with her connection to Barry, but she can read minds and communicate with someone's mind, show them memories, control Barry's body to a degree in order to help save him if he's in trouble, etc. Right now her mind is trapped in an A.R.G.U.S. soldier's mind by Ruby, but I wouldn't say her *whole* mind is in the soldier's. Her physical body didn't die when her mind was sucked into the mental prison. I hope this is making sense! :P**

 **Also, I want to remind you all that after I finish the final chapter and the epilogue, I am going to take a break for several months before I come back to this story and rewrite/edit it. As you can see from the earlier chapters, I have grown as a writer. The first several chapters are cringe worthy to me (though I will say they were written in like only a couple weeks! haha ) and so I want to go back and rewrite them. If I could do it again, those chapters would have only been first drafts and I would have gone over them several more times to polish them.**

 **Anyways that's enough info for now. Here's the new chapter. I hope you enjoy it. (:**

* * *

Everything around Kiera was pitch black as she continued to fall into the mental abyss her arch nemesis, Ruby Siren, created in the A.R.G.U.S. soldier's mind she trapped Kiera in. The villain had just caught her off guard while they fought inside the mind prison, and she had shoved Telegirl forward into the black fog with the bottom of her heeled boot. The force of the kick and the unexpected fall caused all the air to abandon Kiera's lungs.

While she tried to catch her breath she stretched out her hands to find anything that could stop her descent, but she felt nothing except air rushing past her. Panic started to take over as she continued to blindly freefell with no way out of the darkness. Her lungs burned, her body felt heavy, her mind felt numb and her senses betrayed her in the eerie abyss. Kiera gritted her teeth and tried to ignore her pain and fear and instead on how to get out.

After falling for what felt like an eternity without hitting a bottom, Kiera eventually caught her breath and succeeded in clearing her mind in order to make herself float. It took several attempts, but finally she felt herself slowing down until her mental body was floating in the darkness. She smirked at her success, but before she could figure out what to do next, everything around her changed.

She was suddenly floating far above a skyscraper that rose out of the black fog. Everything else around her was still black, as if the building was the only thing high enough to breach the stormy atmosphere of a black planet and reach a vast starless outer space beyond.

The unexpected change caused Kiera to lose her concentration. She freefell toward the building's polished roof about a hundred and fifty feet below- similar to what her real body had done after the A.R.G.U.S. soldier threw the power dampening grenade at her earlier. Her groan echoed as she slammed into the hard surface. Aching pain spread throughout her body- it seemed she could feel real pain in the mental realm. The air abandoned her lungs once more and caused her to cough violently. Kiera turned on her side and coughed into her hand; drops of blood splattered on her gloved hand.

When she was finally able to open her eyes a minute later, she saw Ruby standing over her with her usual smirk. Before Kiera could move, the villain leaned down and grabbed her around the neck. She lifted her up like she was as light as a feather. Kiera surmised Ruby had made herself stronger in her created mental world to give herself an advantage.

The villain carried her by her neck as she walked forward and Kiera gasped for air as she felt the hand tighten around her neck. Forced to face Ruby, she couldn't see where her nemesis was headed but she knew the ledge was somewhere close behind her. Kiera tried to flail her arms and legs, but they wouldn't move. They were as heavy as lead.

"You pushed me off a building to my death and now you will feel what it's like!" Ruby explained and suddenly stopped.

Kiera struggled to breathe and fight back as the villain's hand constricted her airway. "N-N- No! St-op! Sto-Stop!" she tried to say, choking out the words.

"It will be its own reward to see you die, helpless and alone. No Flash to save your pathetic hide. He can't run in here and take you to safety." Ruby remarked, taking great pleasure in seeing her arch nemesis powerless.

Ruby's hand suddenly opened, letting go of Kiera's neck. She gasped as she fell over the side of the building. Her lungs, no longer constricted, once more tried to grasp for air as the pitch-black building quickly accelerated before her. Dizziness from the lack of oxygen prevented her mind from trying to reach out like she ultimately did the last time. Kiera fell helpless toward the black fog below her with Ruby's malicious words echoing in her throbbing head.

Her body free fell, once more swallowed up by the abyss. Again, she felt like she had been falling forever and as every second passed, she expected to hit a hard surface and die. Except the impact never came.

"But not yet," Ruby's voice suddenly broke the silence. Kiera didn't have time to react as everything abruptly lightened around her. She saw Ruby and the same building's roof ascending up towards her as she continued to plummet.

Kiera frantically threw her hands down toward the approaching building, desperately trying to stop herself before she slammed into the roof again. She knew she needed to get the upper hand or Ruby would win this fight and she wouldn't make it out of the soldier's mind alive. She couldn't let that happen. Kiera closed her eyes and fought her own mind, forcing it to forget about the trauma and fear and instead focus on getting control of her powers again.

After a minute of stasis, Kiera opened her eyes and found herself floating about a hundred feet above Ruby and the roof. Her desperate attempt to save herself had kicked her powers back into gear. This time Kiera was the one smirking over her arch nemesis. She moved her own body with her mind and made it leisurely fly down to the other side of the roof, about three hundred feet from Ruby.

The two Telepaths glared at each other, motionless. Telegirl's hands formed tight fists at her sides as she grew impatient. She knew she had to finish this in order to get back to Barry and the real fight outside the soldier's mind. In one fluid motion Kiera opened her suit's hip pockets with her mind as she thought about taking her shield out.

The translucent shield flew from her pocket as it expanded and hovered in front of her. She was relieved to see that not only did her suit make it into the mental realm, but her shield did as well. Kiera didn't even stop to consider if maybe Ruby was the one who allowed the shield to be in the mental prison and why she would allow her to fight with it. Once her weapon was in front of her, Kiera ran toward Ruby and after running several feet her boots left the ground. As she quickly gained speed she mentally threw the shield toward Ruby. The villain leaped forward and flung her hand to the side, making Telegirl's shield fly away over the side of the building before it could get close.

Ruby mirrored Telegirl's movements; running toward her nemesis and soon leaving the ground behind as she made herself fly forward. The space between the two women quickly started to disappear. Ruby narrowed her eyes as she focused on Kiera.

Kiera's outcry echoed through the darkness around the building as an unexpected 'Brain Blast' tore through her distracted mind. Before she could gather herself, Ruby's fist found her stomach and it's impact sent her soaring. She gritted her teeth as she shot backward toward the darkness and focused on pushing the attack out of her mind. Having learned how to defeat the attack quicker, she recovered before she could fall back into the abyss for a third time.

Pure anger started to bubble up inside Telegirl, causing her to clench her fists until they turned white. She pushed herself forward as fast as she could, zeroing in on Ruby, who was now floating above the roof. Nearing the villain within seconds, she didn't slow down; instead Telegirl outstretched her fists, ready to fight. Kiera blinked and Ruby was holding her arms in a tight grip. With her self-enhanced strength and speed, the villain had grabbed her. Ruby whirled her around in the air and pushed her, face down, against the roof.

Kiera's body slammed into the hard surface again. She groaned, disoriented, and coughed up more blood. After a minute of complete agony, she struggled to push herself up as opened her eyes slowly. She tried to ignore the pain that flooded her mental body. Looking down at the shiny mirror-like black roof, Kiera saw herself in the reflection. She saw dark blood dripping from the corner of her mouth and disheveled fainter-than-normal-blonde hair framed her pale looking face. The silver-trimmed grey and blue shapes of her suit seemed to almost blend together in a dull grey color. For the first time, Kiera noticed that the overall color scheme seemed to be off in Ruby's mental realm; everything seemed so drab and desolate.

As Kiera stared down at her shadowy reflection, in confusion, she noticed something bright red moving behind her. Focusing on the out of place object, she realized it was Ruby coming up behind her. Using as much strength as she could summon, Telegirl pushed herself off the roof. She floated parallel with it for a few seconds before she moved up above Ruby.

An idea came to her and Kiera closed her eyes, concentrating while she outstretched her hands. Her pain and fatigue drained away as she focused entirely on completing her task. Opening her eyes again a couple minutes later, she was relieved to see it had worked.

Below her stood S.T.A.R. Labs in all its glory; its walls and tinted glass windows shone like polished metal. It stood out like a beacon of light as the world around her changed from drab to radiant. Spread out next to the building was the lab's parking lot, littered with miscellaneous vehicles. A light grey fog- instead of Ruby's dark fog- framed the edge of the brightly lit mental realm Kiera created.

Ruby struggled to stand in the parking lot below Kiera, having fallen when the realm around her had changed. She looked around baffled by the reconstruction and then looked up at Telegirl, who was leisurely descending to the ground a couple hundred feet from her.

"It appears I can do that trick too!" Kiera shouted down at her.

"How are you doing this?! Everything is under _my_ control! _I_ created this mental realm!" the villain screamed. She stood up, her gloved fists tightened as rage started to similarly take over her.

"You forget that I'm a Telepath also! We're inside a person's mind, after all!" Kiera shouted back, a smirk spread across her face as she started to feel stronger. She raised her hands in the air nonchalantly as she focused on a random semi truck behind her nemesis. Its' wheels lifted off the asphalt silently and once it was several feet off the ground it floated forward. Quickly gaining speed, the truck flew straight toward the unknowing villain.

Right before it was to hit her, Ruby shot upward and landed on top of the flying vehicle. Seeing her plan backfiring, Kiera quickly flattened her hands so they were vertical in front of her and tried to stop the hastening semi. Half a minute later the truck stopped fifty feet from her and with a flick of her hand it freefell to the asphalt parking lot. As the truck descended, Ruby jumped from its roof and shot up into the foggy sky.

Telegirl watched as the red-and-black-clad villain vanished into the grey fog above her. Kiera lowered her hands and formed them into fists, ready to fight Ruby once she reappeared. She scanned the sky above her for any movement, any flicker of red, but nothing happened.

A loud explosion on Kiera's right startled her and made her look from the sky to the source. The semi truck Ruby had left behind had crashed into the asphalt and all that remained was a fiery blackened skeleton of the vehicle. The interruption distracted Telegirl for a moment and when she finally realized it, she quickly looked up and couldn't believe what she saw far above her.

Plummeting from the fog was her family's car from her childhood, though tiny from where Telegirl stood far below, she could still barely make it out. Kiera hadn't seen that worn out eighties Toyota Corolla since her parents were murdered, but she remembered it like she had just ridden in it yesterday. It's appearance brought back many bittersweet childhood memories of her and her parents.

The blue vehicle descended toward her and without even a second's thought, Telegirl's boots left the asphalt. She used her Telekinesis to make herself fly up toward the car as quickly as she could. As she neared it high in the sky, she saw two human forms sitting in the front seat. Kiera felt her heart drop into her stomach, suddenly feeling apprehension.

"No…" she muttered under her breath as she slowed to stop, hovering in the air a few hundred feet below the falling car. "No, it can't be…"

A minute passed as Kiera stared up in disbelief. She finally took a deep breath and mustered as much courage as she could before she continued to make her body fly up toward the car. As she neared it, the figures' details started to come into focus. A chill washed over her and her muscles stiffened as their faces came into view. She had been right to fear what was coming; Kiera knew who they were.

Her parents were sitting in the car's front seats.

As the car continued to drop vertically, they tried to hold themselves up in their seats so they wouldn't fall through the windshield. Their terrified faces brought Kiera out of her shock. She moved herself right below the car and placed her hands on the front bumper. She focused on trying to slow the car down with her Telekinetic powers. Trying to use her abilities on the almost three thousand pound vehicle so soon after lifting the semi truck put a strain on her mind. She gritted her teeth as she used her strength to try and stop her parents from crashing into the distant parking lot below.

After a couple minutes of concentration, the car's descent started to slow and she moved the front end up until the vehicle was horizontal. Kiera moved her hands to the blue hood while continuing to concentrate on slowing it down.

As Telegirl struggled to save her parents from dying again, unknowingly everything around her started to darken back to its original appearance. She was having trouble simultaneously controlling the car and the mental realm's appearance.

After Kiera struggled for several minutes, she finally overcame her astonishment at seeing her parents alive and the overwhelming desire to save them to realize what was happening. She looked up above the car and saw the once grey fog she had altered was now a dark charcoal grey. Kiera then looked over at her parents. They were still sitting in the car with the same terrified looks on their faces as they watched her.

"I can't lose you both again," Kiera whispered to them even though she knew they couldn't hear her.

As if she could understand her daughter, her mother leaned forward in her seat and placed her palm against the windshield. Kiera's father followed her, placing his hand on the glass next to his wife's.

Kiera's heart skipped a beat at the sight. She pushed herself forward above the hood of the car until her hands were pressed over theirs against the windshield. A tear fell down her cheek as she stared at them. She had come to the horrible realization that they weren't really her parents. They looked just like they had the last time she saw them alive, but they died many years ago and this was just Ruby tricking her. Even so, the sight of them still tore through Kiera. She couldn't push back her emotions.

"You aren't real," she whispered, her words lost in the whistling wind around the slowly descending car. Kiera's heart was torn at the sight of her parents before her, alive and yet they weren't actually real. "I love you both more than I can ever say, but this isn't real. She's using you against me and I can't let her. I need to win this fight. I need to leave you or she'll win. I can't let her win, Mom, Dad."

Her parents stared at her, not able to hear what she said, their teary eyes watching her. Their anxiety was obvious, but also present was their adoration for their grown-up daughter. Tears fell down Kiera's face as she looked at them. She knew she had to let them go but she didn't know if she could. She couldn't watch her parents fall to their deaths, not after she saw them die when she was little.

Her mother moved her hand from in front of Kiera's and slid the side of it down the glass in a cupping motion as if trying to cup her daughter's face. Tears started to roll down her mother's cheeks as she said with a sad smile, "We love you". Kiera couldn't hear her voice through the glass and the violent wind around her, but she read her lips and imagined her voice in her mind. She blinked back tears and mouthed the reply, "I love you both too".

Tears now fell in an unbroken stream down Kiera's face as she looked at them through the windshield. She took a deep shaky breath. She tried to gather what strength and willpower she could to do what she knew needed to be done in order to continue fighting against Ruby.

With one last sad smile, Kiera pushed herself backward, off the hood, and floated several feet in front of the car. She watched her parents for a moment before she whispered, "Goodbye Mom. Goodbye Dad." She lowered her arms as she mentally let go of the car.

Once again, the car freefell past Kiera, quickly gaining speed as it plummeted toward the parking lot. She closed her eyes before it could reach the ground. A few seconds later she got conformation that it was over when she heard an explosion below her.

Kiera took another shaky breath and slowly opened her eyes. Below her a cloud of smoke was clearing above the fiery remains of her family's car, shattered into small pieces like it was made of glass.

Tears streamed down her face; her heart uncontrollably broken at the sight. She had been forced to let her parents die again. Ruby had found her weak spot and easily manipulated it in order to break Kiera and get an advantage.

Kiera lowered herself to the ground near the crash as her emotions took over. She tried to tell herself that they weren't really her parents. That they were only tricks fabricated by Ruby to torture her, but her emotions refused to stay bottled up.

Telegirl let out a scream, releasing her pent up anger and sorrow. Her sorrow quickly turned to spitefulness and then into pure rage as she remembered who was responsible. As she started to regain control of her raw emotions, the world around her came back into focus and that's when Kiera heard something in the distance. At first it was a faint whistling sound, but then it grew in a crescendo and she recognized it from earlier. Telegirl quickly looked up at the gloomy fog above her in time to see another car with more people inside almost on top of her.

"No!" she screamed, knowing she didn't have time to save these people from crashing. Having no other choice, the hero used her powers to quickly jump out of the way. She turned around just as the vehicle crashed into the ground where she once stood.

Kiera's heart broke at the sight of more people dying, even though she tried to tell herself they weren't real. They were just tricks Ruby was using to try and break her so she could win. She realized Ruby was only getting started. Kiera glared up at the fog as her anger boiled over. Without thinking, Telegirl outstretched her arms in front of her while she watched the gloom far above her for any movement. A car randomly parked near the mentally created S.T.A.R. Labs started to rattle, intensifying with every second as she scanned the skies. Telegirl quickly grew impatient and let out a strained yell as she mentally flung the vehicle up into the darkness.

"Come down here and fight me, coward!"

"As you wish!" Ruby said behind her and before Telegirl could turn around to face her she went flying toward the three burning vehicles. Now having had practice, Kiera focused on calming herself and on changing her course before the flames could reach her. She slowed to a stop a few feet from the closest car. She opened her eyes and mentally pushed herself forward toward her arch nemesis. Before she reached Ruby, she flicked her hand and the nearest flaming car behind her shot forward.

Seeing her chance to distract her enemy as the car flew toward Ruby, Kiera focused as she watched the car approach her nemesis. Before the vehicle could hit the her, Ruby mentally tore it in half and the wreckage flew around her. As the fiery pieces disappeared from Ruby's vision, a human form appeared before her.

Standing in front of her was Topaz- her deceased lover and the man Telegirl accidently killed all those months ago. He wore his Jewel Thieves suit- similar to Ruby's, but in a dark orange, instead of red.

Ruby faltered for only a minute at the unexpected sight before she realized Telegirl was playing her game. She looked past the image of her lover, ignoring him completely, and glared at Telegirl. The ever-present hatred between the two was almost palpable.

"You little-" Ruby Siren screamed just as thunder rumbled above them, drowning out her words. The sudden crackling boom startled Kiera; she wasn't expecting Ruby's anger to manifest into a storm in the mental realm.

The villain flung her hands out in front of her and a nearby car obeyed her command. It slammed into a few cars in its path before it flew toward Telegirl. Luckily Kiera was fast enough and brought her own hands out in front of her to stop the airborne car.

The distraction was enough to give Ruby time to fly the distance between her and Telegirl. As Kiera lowered her arms, Ruby slammed into her and they both crashed to the ground. Ruby landed on top of her nemesis. She quickly got the upper hand, pinning Telegirl's arms to the asphalt. Kiera clenched her jaw, trying to hold back a scream as pain spread throughout her back and arms when she tried to squirm out of Ruby's grasp.

"Just for trying to trick me, I'll make your last few moments alive even more miserable." Ruby whispered as she smirked down at her prey.

"You won't win, Ruby," Kiera managed to say between painful squirms. Ruby's weight on her arms made any movement a painful scrapping across the asphalt.

"Oh, I beg to differ. I've already won."

Kiera writhed beneath her, trying desperately to get free. Before she could even think about using her powers, a sudden burst of light blinded the two women and a loud crackle sounded just a few feet to Kiera's left. Lightning had struck the ground next to them. Kiera used the few seconds of disorientation to move out from under Ruby and attempted to blindly stand up. She suddenly felt a hand grasp her left hand and another on the back of her right shoulder. Kiera quickly tried to pull away, assuming it was Ruby again. She rapidly blinked, trying to get her sight back.

"Kiera, it's okay. It's me." A familiar voice whispered just in front of her.

"Barry?" she muttered in disbelief, still unable to see anything but white.

Finally the blinding light faded from Kiera's eyes and blurry colored shapes appeared before her. Kiera concentrated on the red form in front of her. Slowly more details came into view until her eyes confirmed The Flash was standing in front of her.

"How did you get in here? Wait…" Kiera realized and pulled away from his embrace. "You're not real! This is another trick!"

"What? No, I'm not a trick! At least I don't think so…" He looked down at his hands as if to check if he was real or not. "I was protecting you on the roof from Ruby's brainwashed soldiers when suddenly I felt myself pulled away and I showed up here- wherever this is." Barry explained as he glanced around. "How did we get back to S.T.A.R. Labs? What happened?" He asked, confused as he looked around at the darkness surrounding them.

"We aren't really at S.T.A.R. Labs. This is a mental realm Ruby created and trapped me in. I managed to change it a bit, but it wasn't easy." Kiera focused on Barry as she tried to verify the authenticity of the man before her.

"I must have unconsciously pulled you in when I was desperate to get the upper hand against Ruby," she realized out loud after a minute.

"Ruby? Where did she go?" Barry whispered back and glanced around them again.

"She was right besi…" Kiera looked around also, realizing her nemesis had vanished once more. Telegirl glanced up at the dark sky as thunder rumbled far above them. "We need to figure a way out of here- and fast!"

"And how do we do that? You said it's her mental realm."

"I am also able to control it somewhat. Maybe I can just imagine us breaking free-" As Kiera thought out loud, Barry interrupted her by grabbing her hand and pulling her towards him in a blur of lightning. As she fell she felt wind rush behind her and she turned her head in time to see Ruby flying past within a foot of her.

Once Kiera was able to catch her balance again, she turned and thrust her hand out. She mentally picked up a car and threw it at her enemy before Ruby could recover. Just as Kiera let go of the flying car, it changed directions. It started toward Barry, who was standing a couple feet on Kiera's left.  
"No!" Kiera screamed and focused on the car as she stepped out in front of him. It slowed and finally stopped just as the front of the car touched Kiera's outstretched hands. She let out a relieved sigh at her success.

"Barry get us away from here-" She whispered over her shoulder. "-in 3…2…1…" As she finished the countdown she mentally pushed the vehicle as hard as she could back at Ruby. At the same time, Barry wrapped his arms around Telegirl and ran as fast as he could, away from the parking lot.

Kiera blinked and she was standing close to the other side of S.T.A.R. Labs. The wall of dark grey fog was close by on her left. The thick fog made it look as if it was just a very overcast day at Flash's headquarters and they could almost forget they were stuck in a mental realm.

"I need to figure out how to get us out of here." Kiera whispered as she looked up at the darkening sky again.

"How about-" Barry started to say, but suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Kiera turned to see why he stopped and found Ruby standing behind her, blocking her from Barry.

"There is no way out for you, _Telegirl._ " Ruby leered at her, mockingly saying her name. She stepped forward quickly, smirking. The villain used her self-enhanced strength to grab Telegirl by the neck and threw her at the wall beside them. Kiera closed her eyes tightly. She quickly twisted her wrists so her palms were parallel with the building. Her powers kicked in and she slowed until her fingertips lightly touched the window behind her. Kiera kept her eyes closed as she floated next to the wall and used her mind to feel the glass windows. She felt the polished curve of the window and how the tinted glass panes curled around the building. She sensed that the fragile crystal-like material could potentially break if met with a certain vibration, touch, or sound. Kiera focused on every inch of the shiny surface. She held her breath as she tapped her index finger against the glass. At first, it looked as if the tap was too light to affect the glass, but then a tiny crack quietly shot out from under her finger. Another crack formed in the opposite direction. Suddenly the glass fractured into a spider web pattern, finding the weaknesses that were once invisible to the eye. As the crackling glass spread, Kiera used her Telekinesis again to push the window from the inside of the lab. The glass shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces.

Before the shimmering dark shards could fall to the ground, they shot forward. They flew around Kiera before aiming for Ruby. The pieces of glass flew toward her enemy, forcing the villain to focus on the attack coming at her. Kiera used the distraction to change her focus to Barry, who stood several feet from Ruby. With Kiera's mind, she moved both him and herself up into the air. They followed S.T.A.R. Labs' wall vertically until they reached the roof. Kiera set them down on top.

"That won't keep her distracted for long!" she shouted as they ran for cover behind the closest of the three pillars that towered over the lab's roof.

"Do you think you can get us out of here?" he asked as they sat behind it.

"I'll try," Kiera replied as leaned against pillar and closed her eyes, trying to focus on the mental prison keeping them there. Barry glanced around the edge, keeping watch for any signs that Ruby was following them.

"She's not going to make this easy." Kiera muttered, feeling the strain against her mind as she tried to push through the mental walls of the prison.

"I'd imagine not. She wants her revenge against you for killing her and murdering Topaz in cold blood."

Kiera opened her eyes at his response and looked at him in surprise, completely forgetting about her task. "'Murdered Topaz in cold blood'?" she repeated.

Barry took his eyes off the edge of the roof and looked from her.

"It was an accident! You know that…" Kiera voice faded as she came to a horrible realization. She quickly pushed herself sideways along the pillar, away from Barry.

"Of course, I just meant-"Barry hastily responded, but Kiera continued to back away from him with a panicked look on her face. "What? What is it? Kiera? What's wrong?"

"You're not really him! You're not really Barry. This is another trick! I fell for it again!" Kiera babbled, unnerved. She couldn't believe she fell for Ruby's trick once again. She quickly pushed herself forward, onto her feet and backed up, away from the fake representation of the man she knew.

"What? No! I meant… I wasn't saying… Kiera! It's me!" Barry pleaded, reaching his hand out while he stepped toward her.

"If you are the real Barry- _my_ Barry- then what memory did you show me as a distraction from my first blood transfusion?" Kiera questioned as she continued to back up slowly.

"Memory?" Barry asked, taken aback. "Memory I showed you?" He reeled as he stepped toward her.

"Don't come any closer! I know you're not really him! You're just a trick Ruby's using to try and get my guard down!" Kiera shouted over the increasing wind that had started to swirl around S.T.A.R. Labs.

Barry looked confused. He opened his mouth for a moment to try and respond. But before saying anything he closed his mouth again and it slowly twisted into a smirk.

"Finally, _Telegirl._ Finally you are catching on!" he said and his face changed, slowly distorting his features. Long black hair grew in a blink of eye. His smirk turned dark red as parts of his suit turned black and the bright gold lightning bolt disappeared from his chest.

Kiera's eyes widen as her partner and the beloved protector of Central City turned into her arch nemesis and the woman who trapped her in her current prison.

Ruby was standing before her where Barry once stood.

"No!" Kiera screamed and continued to back up. Not looking where she was going, she stepped back and her foot slipped. There wasn't any flat surface below her for her foot to land on. She looked back as she started to fall and saw the slanted part of the Lab's ceiling that connected to a ring of glass windows running through the center of the roof.

Falling toward the windows, she saw the dark grey fog ceiling of the mental prison darken and she knew she was quickly losing the fight. She wouldn't last much longer if she didn't find a way to even the odds. She needed to win. She needed to defeat Ruby once and for all. And she needed help.

In one last desperate attempt to gain an advantage, she closed her eyes as she fell and focused on her task. She focused on an idea that Ruby herself had just given her.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! (: Please remember to review with feedback, any questions, any ideas for one-shots etc etc,** **if you can** **. I greatly appreciate it!**

 **NOTES: Some of you might be thinking I wrote Kiera/Telegirl as a weak superhero in this chapter, but remember she's trapped in Ruby's mental realm. Ruby made it and she can manipulate it to whatever she wants. Yes Kiera can control it somewhat, but it takes A LOT of her energy and mental willpower. So I wanted to show just how hard it is for her and how hard it will be to try and defeat Ruby (in the next chapter)… again. And Ruby being alive even though she died might be confusing, so I'll try to explain it. Yes, Ruby is technically dead. But before the fight with Kiera that resulted in her death, she put a backup plan in motion. Using her powers, she put a tiny bit of her consciousness into a A.R.G.U.S. soldier's mind and brainwashed several soldiers into going after Kiera and Barry when they least expected it (their carnival date). So that's how and why Ruby is still-in a way- alive. A little part of her mind is still alive and now in that soldier's mind. I hope that makes sense.**

 **Also believe it or not, I came up with the car(s) falling from the sky with people inside before The Flash season 4 episode 17 aired. :P Another coincidence with the show's contents!**

 **Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your summer! I promise you I'm writing as fast as I can to give you all the final chapter (plus the epilogue) of this story that I still can't believe has gotten to go on this long! (: Thank you all so much for your support! It means more than you know!**


End file.
